Neighborhood satisfaction and participation: A qualitative analysis in the context of quality of life in urban renewal areas of Ankara

Urban life is created on the axis of the places where people live their daily lives, and for most people the residential environment is located in the middle of their central environment. The place of residence or neighborhood provides a safe living environment in which individuals organize their daily activities. In this context, the neighborhood plays an important role in the formation and shaping of the social structure. In relation to the important role of the neighborhood on the urban environment, urban policies can be shaped depending the satisfaction and confidence of the people living in urban renewal neighborhoods. The multidimensionality of the concept of the neighborhood necessitates the evaluation of this concept at the national and local scale in macro and micro levels. Definitions for determining the specified levels are based on the size of the neighborhood and the limits of accessible services. The rapid urbanization process and urban renewal policies in Turkey have increased the mobility rate of the population living in the urban neighborhoods. This mobility leads to socio-economic changes of the population in these areas and transformation at the level of social organization. The main research topic of the study is to determine how the quality of life perception affects the social participation in the urban renewal neighborhoods. The study examines the relationship between objective conditions and subjective and behavioral responses in cities and especially in urban renewal areas. The main objectives of the study are to examine the relationship between neighborhood satisfaction and participation as well as to measure subjective well-being of people living in neighborhoods in urban renewal areas in Ankara. Study also examines the transformation of neighborhoods and neighborhood concept in urban renewal areas and its effects on community participation in the context of quality of urban life analysis.