The Black Sea coasts of Turkey have important examples of geological heritage with coastal cliffs in terms of geological formations and features. The Güzelcehisar Basalt Columns (GBCs) formation and its coast have been chosen as a research area in this article in terms of its basalt columns, rare coastal geological diversity and coastal geotourism potential. This paper presents the results of a visitor survey undertaken at the GBCs formation and its coast, located in the rural coastal part of Bartın province in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey. This survey was conducted in 2020 to assess the tourism shoulder season visitors to the Güzelcehisar village. With the survey, its aim was to determine the awareness of the visitors on geoconservation and geodiversity and to evaluate the understanding of geological heritage and geotourism. In addition, it was desired to set visitor expectations to improve the geotourism experience. It was found that visitors had a high level of understanding and awareness of the terms “geodiversity”, “geoheritage”, “geotourism” and “geoconservation”. However, this survey also shows that there is less emphasis on the need to protect the geodiversity in Güzelcehisar. Guided walking is preferred in order to improve visitor understanding and improve experiences. These survey findings contain guiding explanations for studies that could provide a wider interpretation of the perceptions, experiences and expectations of visitors regarding the sustainable development of areas with similar coastal geotourism potential in Turkey.

The researchers utilized a participatory approach based on expert opinion, which was used to assess the environmental, social, economic, and visual value and accessibility benefits of the Güzelcehisar Beach Boardwalk (GBB) application in the province of Bartın in Turkey’s Western Black Sea Region. The questionnaire was administered face-to-face and online to 120 professionals from various subject area fields. According to field specialists, the benefits of the GBB are as follows: social benefit, visual value and accessibility, economic benefit, and environmental benefit. The GBB was evaluated as an example of infrastructure within the scope of effective solutions for tourism and recreation activities and resilience within sustainable development of rural coastal landscapes using a participatory approach, so the results will guide Integrated Coastal Zone Management planning for the area.

The main objective of this study is to determine the knowledge and awareness levels of climate change among preparatory class students at Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University in the Western Black Sea Region of Türkiye using an unsupervised clustering approach. Within this scope, a survey was administered to university students (n = 280). Participant scores for the survey sections containing five-point Likert-type questions on climate change awareness were calculated using min–max normalization. The normalized data was then processed using the k-means algorithm, a well-known technique in unsupervised machine learning. This resulted in a classification (clustering) related to climate change awareness. The number of clusters was determined using the Silhouette index. Three clusters identified using k-means and Silhouette index ($S\approx 0.55)$ revealed the knowledge and application levels of student groups regarding climate change awareness. As a result of clustering, it was determined that Cluster-3 students (n = 134, 47.9%), defined as having a high level of knowledge and application, had a higher impact value in their overall assessments of green space-focused issues related to climate change awareness compared to the overall assessments of students in other clusters. Some notable findings concerning the attitudes of Cluster-3 students highlight climate change awareness-related practices. These include minimizing water consumption to levels necessary for ecosystem water management (mean = 95.7, std. deviation = 10.9) and exercising controlled, sustainable daily energy use to alleviate pressure on green spaces (mean = 94.4, std. deviation = 12.5). This study offers practical insights for policymakers, educators, and institutions, emphasizing the need to enhance climate education and to promote the active involvement of younger generations in shaping sustainable environments.

Biophilic Playgrounds as Playscapes in Child-Nature Interaction

Araştırma alanı olarak seçilen İznik, Marmara Bölgesi'nde İznik Gölü kıyısında Bursa iline bağlı bir ilçedir. Tarihin ilkçağlarından bugüne, farklı dönemlerdeki uygarlıkların kültürlerini yansıtan çok sayıda arkeolojik değerleri ve anıtsal yapıları barındıran kent, kültür ve inanç turizmi açısından zengin bir tarihî dokuya sahiptir. İznik kenti, tarihi sürecindeki dönemlere ait bilgileri içeren yapılar ve kalıntıları aracılığı ile kentsel ve sosyal gelişimini ve değişimini kavramaya yönelik veriler sunan önemli arkeolojik bir yerleşim alanı özelliği taşımaktadır. 2014 yılından itibaren UNESCO Dünya Mirası Geçici Listesi'nde yer alan İznik, Prehistorik dönemlerden itibaren farklı medeniyet ve kültürel yaşam biçimlerine ev sahipliği yapmıştır. Kent doğal ve tarihi değerleri, özgün arkeolojik peyzaj özellikleri, farklı kültür katmanları ile sahip olduğu turizm kaynak değerleri yönüyle korunması gereken bir kültürel miras alanı niteliğindedir. Bu makalede, çok katmanlı yerleşim karakteri gösteren İznik kentinin tarihsel süreçte kent kimliğinin gelişiminde etkili olan arkeolojik peyzaj özellikleri ile anıtsal yapıları incelenerek, turizm ve kültürel mirasın sürdürülebilirliği kapsamındaki sahip olduğu olanaklar ve sorunları ortaya koyulmuştur. Sonuçta, İznik kentinde kültürel miras değerlerinin korunması, yaşatılması ve gelecek kuşaklara aktarılması amacıyla bütünleşik koruma ve planlama yaklaşımı temelinde değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır.