A smart approach to reconceptualize urban neighbourhood

The spatial structure of cities reveals the needs of the future while revealing the gains and losses of the past. Neighbourhoods, which are the living parts of cities, change with the movements of time. These changes have partial or holistic effects at the scale of people, society, and space. One goal of spatial planning is to organize the whole and the part relationship. If the city is a whole, the neighbourhoods are parts of this whole. Just like the city, the neighbourhood is a living organization that must be planned and managed, framed by the concepts of time, space, people, and community. Just as cities are important in the strategic construction of regions, neighbourhoods have an important place in the strategic construction of cities. The realization of physical, economic, and social organization on an urban scale depends on the reconstructing of neighbourhoods on a cellular scale. In other words, parts need to be improved to improve the big picture. The aim of this thesis is to seek an answer to the question of "Is it possible to transform the apartment stacks into real neighbourhoods using technology infrastructure?". In the study, the traditional neighbourhood model and today's modern neighbourhood model are compared with each other and the result is discussed in relation to the smart neighbourhood model of the future. In the study, the concept of "neighbourhood" is discussed from the perspective of the past-present-future. The study aims to reveal the physical, administrative, and socio-economic components of the neighbourhood of the past, present and future. It targets to evaluate the shaped neighbourhood concept of each period with its positive and negative aspects. In the data collection and analysis phase of this research, case study, experimental mobile application design, ethnographic research and survey methods were used together. Within the scope of the thesis, an original mobile application named "Mahalle-M" has been developed. This mobile application has been experienced by people living in the Yazır District of Konya, and the following results have been reached. It is possible to transform the apartment stacks into real neighbourhoods using technology infrastructure, but this is subject to seven conditions. Thanks to the digital neighbourhood management system, people from different social strata living in the same neighbourhood were able to establish more bonds with each other. The digital neighbourhood management system has given people the feeling that they are an active part of the neighbourhood they live in. This system brought the residents of the neighbourhood into contact with each other and eliminated the fear of not getting a response from people's neighbourhood initiatives. The research reveals that digital space and communication have positive effects on the use of physical space. The results of the research indicate that the concepts of "neighbourhood civilization", "neighbourhood sociology" and "neighbourhood technology" should be kept on the agenda more in spatial planning. Considering the experience gained by this research, it is suggested that a "Digital Neighbourhood Management System" should be implemented in all cities and a new profession called "Digital Neighbourhood Manager" should be born.