Comparative analysis of pedestrianization projects in Kütahya city center

From the past to the present, public spaces have become one of the factors affecting the development of cities and the quality of life of the citizens. Streets, which are the basic elements of public spaces, are dynamic and lively places. Until today, some efforts have been done to increase the quality of public spaces by giving different functions to the streets. One of these actions, pedestrianization affects the development of the cities by being planned according to the needs and structure of the cities. Successful pedestrianization practices are being assessed on a set of specific public spheres criteria. This thesis aims to evaluate the pedestrianized street practices of Cumhuriyet and Bekir Avlupınar Streets comparatively, in the city center of Kütahya, in terms of public space quality parameters. A qualitative research method is used in this research. The public space quality criteria of Cumhuriyet Caddesi (Love Road), a trading axis between the historical city center and the city square, which was pedestrianized in 2007, and Bekir Avlupınar Street, which was located in the residential area at the periphery of the city center and pedestrianized in 2021were analyzed as case studies. The characteristics of both pedestrianized streets were determined according to the successful pedestrianized street practices around the world. For this, physical environmental analyzes were conducted, and two observation methods, personal and ecological observations, were used. With the scoring system created because of the observations, streets were evaluated comparatively and the quality of the space was revealed. All the findings were presented using photographs, tables, and maps. In this study, selected three successful pedestrianized streets from the world were examined and determined whether the study areas met the public space quality criteria, terms of the public space quality criteria, which were put forward by some theorists, and therefore the success of the pedestrianization practices was shown. One of the findings of the research is that Cumhuriyet Street is successful in terms of access and connections, uses, and activities;Bekir Avlupınar Street is of comfort, image, and socialness criteria. It is determined that the pedestrianization works implemented in the city center of Kütahya contribute positively to the city in general. It has found that there are user and usage differences according to the location of the pedestrianized street and the urban furniture used in the public space design. As a result of this research, it has been concluded that if successful pedestrianized street works are designed in line with a specific purpose and accordance with the structure of cities, public spaces with high spatial quality will be obtained. Keywords: Public space, pedestrianization, pedestrianized street, quality of space, Kütahya.