مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Evaluation of open space experience in urban site settlements: Şirince Village, Selçuk

Abstract :

The village of Şirince that attracts people with its narrow streets and authentic settlement pattern in conjunction with rural lifestyle and that has the unique example of 19th century Anatolian architecture is basically an old Rum settlement. There are approximately 200 houses which correspond well with the topography of and integrated with the natural environment both encircling and inside the village comprise of urban protected site. Şirince that is remarkable with its historical heritage as well as agricultural products, and also with its pedestrian priority spaces hosts the traditional fest in every October. In addition the settlement pattern which was formed with the geographical impact and the production relations support each other. Şirince which is a popular place for daily tourism is evaluated as a research area and its open space experiences are examined in this study. In the first part of the study, a questionnaire which was formed with 20 questions applied to 82 local people. In this context, the ideas and opinions about the open space experiences were pooled down. Afterwards, these all were used to question how the built environment under protection should be perceived and evaluated according to the experts’ input along with the SWOT analysis which was applied to deal the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the study area. As the results of the observations, questionnaires and analysis alike, it was observed that people use the open spaces densely and the daily life passes outside the houses in general. When these are evaluated in general, as 100 % of the people who attented the questionnaire found Şirince safe, it was determined that this outdoor life style which forms the identity of the settlement needs to be supported. Based on the results of SWOT analysis, proposals were brought forward to consider the opportunities and strengths of the settlement and to eliminate its weaknesses and threats. To these ends, it was aimed at increasing the existing property of the settlement and also improving the quality of open spaces.