Investigation of high-rise buildings in context of environmental and social sustainability: The case of İzmir new city center

Rapid population growth, urban sprawls, natural sources shortage, air pollution, global warming, global conflict, and similar problems have been the major problems that threatened the future of the world. During the recent years, as a solution for these problems, the term of 'sustainability' has gained importance and visibility in architecture as in all other disciplines. The constructions not only cause natural resource consumption, but also cause large amount of energy consumption, harmful gas emissions, and climate change throughout their life cycles. Especially, high-rises have more impact on the environment and the city than other types of buildings due to their height and population. As rapid urbanization, population growth, and scarcity of land, high-rises have become seen as a solution as a vertical city paradigm. Moreover; tall buildings have become a symbol of growth, prosperity, and development of the cities over the time. Accordingly, there has been an unrivaled increase in the number of tall buildings in the last decade Thus, there is an increasing need for sustainability research on high-rises. The sustainability of tall buildings is a crucial issue for the future of the cities and the world. This research provides a comprehensive approach to achieve sustainability for tall buildings by including its environmental and social dimensions. The study focuses on the physical and social environmental impacts of high-rises and provides a conceptual framework to evaluate the environmental and social impacts of tall buildings. Within the scope of the study, three tall buildings in Izmir, Bayraklı region, are examined in terms of environmental and social sustainability within the created conceptual framework.