The study investigates the disconnect between formal urban planning standards and experiential walkability outcomes in Viranşehir, a planned neighborhood in Mersin, Türkiye. Although the area complies with national regulations on the provision of public services, it exhibits systemic limitations, including car-oriented street layouts, fragmented pedestrian networks, and underutilized public spaces. Employing a mixed-methods case study, the research integrates archival sources (aerial imagery, zoning plans, satellite data) with field observations to assess pedestrian environments. A light coding of sidewalk continuity, crossings, and edge conditions indicates that many streets are bounded by extensive inactive walls, protected crossings are absent along critical routes such as the school–park axis, and sidewalks are frequently narrow, obstructed, or discontinuous. These built-form features undermine safety, comfort, and social interaction despite formal regulatory compliance. The findings demonstrate how grid-pattern street systems prioritize vehicular mobility, while gated developments restrict permeability and diminish everyday encounters. In response, the study proposes a hierarchy of interventions: immediate measures such as school streets, protected crossings, and traffic calming, followed by medium- to long-term strategies including shaded seating, sidewalk widening, and participatory design guidelines. By linking statutory standards with lived experience, the paper conceptualizes walkability not only as a technical planning requirement but also as a socio-cultural right, offering transferable insights for the creation of more inclusive urban environments.

The strain and destruction of touristic activities on the city’s inherent values is quite strong in historical city centers. Alternative tourism types that focus on rural areas are important in terms of sectoral development in this context. Cooperation between agriculture and tourism contributes to the reduction of development gaps between rural and urban areas, the preservation and development of existing environmental assets and natural resources in rural areas, and long-term urban development. The aim of this study is to examine the tourism potential of the city of Foça and to reveal the importance and necessity of rural tourism in the context of the sectoral development of tourism. Kozbeyli village was chosen as a sample area. This study, in which rural tourism is discussed in the context of sustainable urban development and its impact on rural development, includes a study on spatial fiction as well as carrying out a planning study on tourism activities. In the study method, qualitative and quantitative research techniques are used together. Direct observation and spatial investigations constitute the qualitative part of the study method, while the evaluations made using the Likert scale technique constitute the quantitative part. The “Farm and Tourism Facility Design with Rural Tourism Concept” student project work progress in Kozbeyli village was discussed. The reflections of tourism on architecture and its effects on the city were evaluated. This research can also be viewed as a preliminary investigation on the architectural quality of small and medium-sized rural facilities.

While environmental, economical and social challenges that the world has been facing recently are increasing dramatically; cities have played critical role in generation many of these problems like negative impacts on environment and overconsumption of resources. Most of the cities today face severe sustainability challenges including sanitation, air pollution, environmental degradation, over population and lack of livability. However, cities may also raise answers to find solutions against many of such complex urban problems, since they are assumed as creative and innovative platforms for social ecosystem of ideas. In this sense, there is increasing interest in ‘City Laboratories’ or ‘Urban Living Labs’, which are established to provide creative experimental platforms with participation of city actors to discuss urban sustainability issues before implementation of deep and structural urban changes for citizens. They provide participatory, co-creative and experimental platforms for self-organizing cities. The aim of this paper is to discuss a collaborative City Laboratory approach -Mersin City Lab- to achieve sustainability principles during urban regeneration process for the selected case-study area located in Mersin. Mersin City Lab focuses on two aspects: Firstly, ‘City Lab’ approach, involves citizens and stakeholders into decision-making process. Secondly, it focuses on urban transformation process with circularity principles including water, mobility, energy, waste management, food and circular economy to achieve sustainable neighborhood development. The paper starts with introduction of ‘city-gaming’ methodology which has been adopted as the main structure of participation of multi-stakeholders. It continues with discussions on stages of the case-study project through implementation of workshops and game sessions by participation of multi stake-holders. Following, the results gathered from overall evaluations of participants’ proposals regarding land-use, mobility and urban water management, local economy, urban development, urban agriculture and food strategies in neighborhood level are discussed. Finally, the paper concludes with impacts of City Labs approach and city-gaming methodology on decision-making process for real urban problems and urban settings.

In response to contemporary urban challenges, architectural practices have increasingly embraced rapid production methods to address emerging needs. However, this approach to production and consumption has generated various problems, which became more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges across urban and architectural scales such as the lack of public and green spaces, circulation and accessibility issues, and ecological issues has become more important. It was observed that the existing urban fabric contributed to higher rates of disease transmission. Consequently, lockdown measures were imposed to mitigate the spread of the virus which leaded to extended time spent at home. The necessity for people to stay at home during the pandemic created a sense of “confinement” which is caused by the problems associated with housing design. Disconnection from the environment and the limited access to green and public spaces contributed to this feeling of isolation. This study critically examines problems of the current housings and their relation to urban fabric through literature review and spatial analysis, focusing on issues at both urban and individual housing scales. Housing unit issues are addressed through specific spatial elements, and new solutions are proposed. Key aspects, such as the relationship between ground-level housing and the street, apartment living spaces, rooftop areas, and circulation spaces are analysed. Solutions are developed within a theoretical framework, aiming to address future crises as well as pandemic-like situations. The study concludes with a design proposal: a vertical housing model that aims to support everyday needs such as socializing, working, resting, and learning, while enabling social interaction and engagement with the surroundings in an adaptable and sustainable living environment. In conclusion, the issues highlighted by the pandemic are not new and may reemerge in the future. Therefore, architecture must continue to develop innovative solutions that address both social and environmental needs.

Kültür mirasının bir parçası olan tescilli yapıların, deprem risklerinin belirlenmesi kapsamında hasar görebilirlik analizlerinin yapılması, tarihi mirasın sürdürebilirliğinin ve kentlerin depreme dirençliliğinin sağlanması açısından çok önemlidir. Bu bağlamda, çalışma kapsamında, İzmir’in Foça ilçesinde kentsel sit alanında bulunan, tescilli yığma yapıların depreme karşı göreceli hasar görebilirlikleri analiz edilmiştir. Bu çalışma, parsel-bazında bir alan çalışması olup, analizler risk değerlendirme süreçlerinin ilk aşaması olarak kabul edilen hızlı tarama yöntemlerinden biri olan, gözleme dayalı “Sokak Taraması Yöntemi”yle gerçekleştirilmiştir. 2023 yazında, Foça ilçesi İsmetpaşa, Fevzipaşa ve Atatürk Mahallelerini kapsayan kentsel sit alanında gerçekleştirilen çalışmada toplam 208 tescilli yığma yapı bu yöntemle analiz edilmiştir. Bina Deprem Puanları hesaplanmış ve yapıların göreceli hasar görebilirlik seviyeleri belirlenmiştir. Analiz kapsamında gözle görünen kalite, bitişik yapılardaki çarpışma etkisi, cephelerdeki dolu-boş oranı, dolu-boş düzeni gibi analiz parametreleri değerlendirilmiştir. Tescilli 259 yapı içerisinden analiz edilen 208 yapının, 156 tanesinin (%75) göreceli riski düşük, 52 tanesinin ise (%25) göreceli riski yüksek olarak tespit edilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler doğrultusunda, yapılar göreceli hasar görebilirlik seviyelerine göre sınıflandırılmış ve kentsel doku içindeki konumlarına bağlı olarak kentsel riskleri değerlendirilmiştir. Öncelikli belirlenen yapıların bina içlerine girilerek, detaylı ve hesaplamalara dayalı mühendislik analizlerinin yapılması önerilmiştir. Bu kapsamda, çalışma, tescilli yığma yapıların deprem güvenliğini artırmak için öncelikli olarak hangi yapıların detaylı incelemeye tabi tutulması gerektiğini belirlemektedir. Sonuç olarak, çalışma, deprem risk azaltımı kapsamında kültürel mirasın risk yönetimi ve korunması konusunda önemli bir veri sağlamaktadır. Ayrıca çalışma kapsamında, yapıların restorasyon süreçlerinde, kültürel mirası koruma stratejileriyle deprem güvenliği önlemlerinin bütünleşik bir şekilde ele alınması gerektiği vurgulanmaktadır.