Assessing the Urban Design Quality of Turkish Cities

Abstract

The common characteristic of qualified urban spaces is that they offer an environment enriched with livability criteria, protecting and maintaining the elements of identity and offering flexibility and diversity compatible with the current conditions. Nowadays, the first condition of creating such qualified/successful urban spaces is to reflect the “urban design” processes on the urban spaces. Therefore, the present study aims to discuss the “urban design” quality (the level of success) of the Turkish cities shaped within the scope of urban plans. This discussion was performed using the urban design criteria determining and assessing the actors, which play an effective and relevant role in urban design and planning processes. The fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method was used. By making use of the results of the present study, the conditions influencing the urban design aspect were re-discussed via current state analysis, and the foundation for a general assessment about the urban design quality of Turkish cities was established.