Fiziksel ve işlevsel çekim noktalarının kentsel güvenlik algısına etkisi: İstanbul-Balat örneği

Abstract

Kentsel doluluk ve boşluklara; sosyo-ekonomik, sosyo-kültürel ve fiziksel, katmanların eklemlenmesiyle oluşan kent dokuları, içinde barındırdığı doğal ve yapay kentsel mekân öğeleri yoluyla kullanıcılara çeşitli çevresel uyaranlar iletmektedir. Mekân kullanıcıları, kendilerine iletilen çevresel uyaranları, birey kaynaklı faktörlerin etkisinde algılama süreçleri ile almakta, zihinde anlamlandırmakta ve bunun sonucunda mekânsal kararlar vermektedir. Fiziksel çevre öğeleri; mekân kullanıcılarının sosyo-psikolojik ve fiziksel özellikleri, geçmiş deneyimleri, dikkat ve anlık duyuları ile renk, büyüklük, yoğunluk, biçim gibi çevre kaynaklı faktörlerin etkisiyle imgeye dönüşebilmektedir. Bu bağlamda; tarihsel, ekonomik, sosyal, simgesel ve estetik niteliklerden/değerlerden bir ya da birden fazlasını taşıyan fiziksel ve işlevsel çekim noktaları, kullanıcıların algılama süreçleriyle de ilişkili olarak imge değerine sahip olabilmektedir. Güçlü imgeler içeren ve bu sayede imgelenebilirliği yüksek olan kentler ya da kent parçaları, görsel olarak daha kavranabilir olduğu için mekân içerisinde kolay hareket edebilme, kolay yön bulma ve buna bağlı keyifli, konforlu kullanıcı deneyimleri ve güven hissi/algısı sağlamaktadır. Bu nedenle imgelenebilirlik ve güçlü kent imgeleri, kullanıcıların kentsel güvenlik hissini olumlu yönde etkileyen bir özelliktir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, kentsel mekân içerisinde yer alan fiziksel ve işlevsel çekim noktalarının imge değerlerini belirlemek, yaya hareket ve yönelmelerini nasıl etkilediğini incelemek ve kentsel güvenlik algısı arasındaki ilişkiyi ortaya koymaktır. Çalışma kapsamında, hem fiziksel ve işlevsel çekim noktalarının yoğun olarak bulunduğu hem de bölgesel düşük muhit ve yapı kalitesi, ıssız ve terk edilmiş alanların mevcut olduğu İstanbul ili Fatih İlçesi'nde bulunan Balat bölgesi, çekim noktası-yaya yönelme tercihleri-kentsel güvenlik algısı ilişkisini incelemek için çalışma alanı olarak seçilmiştir. İlk etapta, alanda fiziksel doku bileşenleri; açık alan ağ sistemi ve arazi kullanımı analizleri yapılmıştır. İkinci etapta alanın ekonomik, sosyal, tarihsel, simgesel ve estetik özellikler taşıyan fiziksel ve işlevsel çekim noktaları ile Kırık Camlar Kuramı, Savunulabilir Mekân Kuramı, Rasyonel Tercih Kuramı ve Çevresel Stres Kuramı'na göre kentsel güvenlik hissinin zayıf olduğu alanlar irdelenmiş, yoğunlaştığı alanlar tespit edilmiş ve mekânsallaştırılmıştır. Üçüncü etapta, daha önce mekânı deneyimlememiş 110 kişilik bir katılımcı grubu ile çekim noktası-rota belirleme-kentsel güvenlik algısı/hissi ilişkisi üzerine bir alan çalışması gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bir saatlik çalışma kapsamında katılımcılar, kendilerine verilen yol ağı haritası üzerinde çalışma alanındaki rotalarını ve yönelme tercihlerini etkileyen çekim unsurunu belirtmiş, ayrıca geçtikleri bağlantılar içerisinde hissettikleri kentsel güvenlik hissini Likert ölçeği kullanarak puanlamıştır. Dördüncü ve son etapta ise, fiziksel ve işlevsel çekim noktalarının yoğunlaştığı alanlar ile kentsel güvenlik algısının/hissinin yüksek ve düşük olduğu alanlar, katılımcı grubundan edinilen verilerle çakıştırılarak yorumlanmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular sonucunda, bireylerin fiziksel ve işlevsel çekim noktalarını algılamasında ve yönelmesinde, bu noktaların büyüklük, proporsiyon, renk, biçim gibi niteliksel özelliklerinin önemli olduğu görülmüştür. Fiziksel ve işlevsel çekim noktalarının niteliksel özelliklerinin yanı sıra, sayıca fazla ve bütünleşik olması, bir başka deyişle niceliksel ve yoğunluğa bağlı özelliklerinin de bireylerin bu noktaları algılamasında ve yönelmesinde etkili olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır. Ayrıca fiziksel ve işlevsel çekim noktalarının niteliksel olarak güçlü, sayıca çok, çeşitli ve bütünleşik olduğu yerlerde, kentsel güvenlik hissinin yüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir.

Urban textures, which are formed as a result of the combination of physical, socio-cultural and socio-economic layers through different urban solids and voids, transmit various environmental stimuli to users through their artificial and natural urban space elements. Since human beings are in constant interaction with their environment by nature, urban space users receive and interpret the environmental stimuli conveyed to them with individual perception processes, make decisions and perform spatial behavior in this direction. Perception, which is the first stage of this process, consists of the physiological stage that begins with the reception of environmental stimuli with the sense organs and the psychological stage that provides the meaning of the received information in the mind, is affected by both environmental and individual factors. Color, size, density, movement and orientation of other pedestrians, amount of light, shape, proximity, depth, light-shadow, brightness, expansion, number, aspect ratios, shape-ground, continuity, repetition, rhythm, proportion, similarity, closure, diversity, order, sound and smell are the environmental factors that affect perception and age, gender, education level, character traits, knowledge, lifestyle, value judgments, needs, socio-economic status, profession are the individual-based factors that affect perception. Perception has two important processes, ''Selective Attention'' and ''Organizing''. Selective Attention is the selective perception of many data received by the senses under the influence of various factors, since the brain has a limited capacity to form a meaningful perception by processing the information received from the senses. In addition, perception is the work of organizing the received data in the mind with various principles. Environmental stimuli can transform into images at the end of the perception processes by passing through the physical and socio-psychological characteristics, instantaneous senses, past experiences and visual attention filters of the users with the effect of other environmental factors. Landmarks are one of the important elements in the image of the city can be classified through various concepts such as can be seen from close or far distances, its visuality, meaning, structure, social, historical, symbolic, economic and aesthetic value. In this context, physical and functional points of attraction, which have one or more of the social, historical, symbolic, economic and aesthetic qualities, can have a strong image value in relation to the perception processes of the users. Cities or parts of cities that contain strong images and thus have high imaginability, provide easy comprehension, easy wayfinding, easy movement, comfortable and enjoyable user experiences. For this reason, imageability is a feature that positively affects users' perception of urban security. Urban security means that individuals living in the city feel safe while meeting their needs and maintaining their mutual relations and it is the state of being able to lead their lives in peace and in a safe environment. It can be studied together with spatial crime theories that examine places that will increase the probability of crime. "The Theory of Broken Glass (Windows)", ''Defensible Space Theory'', "Rational Choice Theory" and "Environmental Stress Theory" are some important spatial crime theories. Although spatial security theories deal with different spatial elements and concepts such as damaged buildings, out-of-function landscape elements, uncollected garbage; graffiti has weak/ bad visual quality and meaning, high-rise and crowded residential blocks, the useless and idle ground floors, the planning mistakes and the wrong positioning of the buildings, crowded and incorrectly organized public spaces, unlocked doors, the presence of derelict and derelict structures environmental stressors (noise, crowd, pollution, poor housing quality, poor neighborhood quality, traffic congestion etc.), most fundamentally, they argue that derelict and uninhabited spaces and spaces where disorder are not corrected are open to crime and create a negative perception of security. In this context, the aim of the study is to determine the image values of the physical and functional points of attraction in the urban environment, to examine the effects on pedestrian movements and orientations, and to examine the effect on the formation and change of the perception of urban security. In scope of the study, Balat and its surroundings (part of Fener and Ayvansaray), which is in Fatih District in Istanbul province was chosen as the study area to examine the relationship between the attraction point and the sense of urban security because in Balat both physical and functional points of attraction and regional low environment and building quality, desolate and abandoned areas are intense. The study was carried out on Saturdays, in the afternoon, in bright and sunny weather due to the pedestrian density in the area in August, September and October 2020. The participant group was limited to 20-60 years of age due to map reading competence and the risk that the COVID-19 Pandemic poses for advanced age groups. The study is built on the basis of human and environmental interaction, perception and perception of urban security, and is shaped on concepts in different disciplines such as city and regional planning, urban design, psychology, criminology and statistics. In the first stage, physical texture analyzes of the selected sample area (texture, solid- void, building condition, number of building floors, building type, registration status, topography, open space, transportation, flooring, land use) were made in detail. In the second stage, the physical and functional points of attraction in the sample area were examined separately according to their economic, aesthetic, social, historical and symbolic features and values, and then concentrated areas were identified and mapped. In addition, according to Broken Windows Theory, Defensible Space Theory, Rational Choice Theory and Environmental Stress Theory, the areas where the sense of urban security is weak were examined, their concentrations were determined, mapped and urban security zoning was created. In the third stage, a field study was conducted with a subject group of 110 people who had not experienced the place before, on the relationship between attraction point-routing-urban security. Within the scope of the study, the subjects stated the route they determined on the road network map given to them and the attraction factor affecting their orientation preferences at each junction point, and also scored the sense of urban security they felt in the connections they passed using a Likert scale. In addition, pedestrian movements, their density and the most preferred routes in daily life at each connection in the sample area was determined by the pedestrian counting of all streets on Saturday afternoon. In the last stage, the areas where the physical and functional attraction points are concentrated and the areas with a high sense of urban security are interpreted by overlapping. In addition, the data were compared with the pedestrian movement routes and intensities in daily life. As a result of the findings, it was seen that the presence, density and continuity of the attraction points positively affect the orientation preferences of the pedestrians. According to the data, there is a linear relationship between pedestrian movements and attraction points, and pedestrians move towards the attraction points in the urban space. This situation was observed both in the selection of the entrance gate to the area and in the rest of the route determination processes in the study. Where attraction point density increase, participant/subject pedestrian density also increases. This also applies to general pedestrian density. In addition, it is among the findings that the quality of the attraction points, as well as the quantity, have an effect on perception and orientation preferences. The factors that most affect the orientation preferences of the participants are the architectural attraction points. After the architectural attraction points, the attraction points for commercial activities, the physical environment, the landscape and topography, and the reinforcements and the social-cultural elements come respectively. In addition to environmental factors, it has been observed that individual-based characteristics such as gender, education level and age are also effective in orientation preferences. According to the data obtained, while women tend to focus more on architectural and aesthetic details, men tend to focus more on commercial details. As another prominent factor, women and the elderly prefer flat areas with less slope, while men and young people tend to lean more towards the slope. In addition, pedestrian density is higher on streets with a high sense of security, but the relationship between pedestrian density and attraction point is stronger than its relationship with the perception of security. Although spatial perception and security issues are a common subject of study in both planning and psychology disciplines, the existence and shape of the relationship between city images and urban security perception has not been studied. In this respect, examining the existence and form of the relationship between the existence of landmarks (physical and functional points of attraction with social, historical, symbolic, economic and aesthetic qualities) from urban images and the perception of urban security contributes to both the planning and psychology literatures. In addition, it plays an important role in the formation of interactions and intersections of perception-identity and urban/spatial security issues in further research. In addition to the aforementioned research, it will also contribute to many disciplines that relate to people and space, especially urban design, in the field of application.