The concept of square in the framework of user participation: Evaluation of Taksim Square

Public spaces are areas that are accessible and open to common use by everyone in society, where different views come together and are shared. All interactions and social relations in public spaces in a city shape the formation of urban culture. In urban life, one of the most preferred public spaces among people is squares. Throughout history, squares have been of great importance for city and national politics. These areas played a central role not only for the common use of urban residents, but also for social, political and economic functions. Squares also have a political structure used for communication purposes between society and political power. While these places are a product of social memory, they have also become the object of the dominant authority's desire for change because they are effective in revitalizing the past. From Turkey's perspective, the most striking public area of change is Taksim Square.Taksim Square is very important both in terms of its location and function and in terms of being the voice of city users in the historical process. Today, it is important to remember the definition of public space when designing the square, which goes beyond the nature of public space and imposes many limitations. In this regard, the redesigning process of Taksim Square should be carried out with this awareness.When making the decision for Taksim Square, an environment in which the public participated was preferred rather than a unilateral process. In this direction, the Taksim Square competition was opened. In this study, inferences are made based on literature regarding the applicability participatory process in the design of Taksim Square.