- For more creative environments: an evaluation of urban quality and vitality of Istanbul Historical Peninsula    377 kb by    Oruç, Gülden Demet & Giritlioðlu, Cengiz | orucd@itu.edu.tr    Short Outline By evaluating the urban vitality level and findings of physical and functional quality survey of the Istanbul Historical Peninsula, strategic approaches for physically and economically more attractive urban spaces have been developed. Abstract Many of the historical urban centers throughout the world and in Turkey with a multidimensional space feature are being recalled with their insufficient environment, poor services as well as high level of crime while also continuing to perform its traditional role of receiving immigrants from countryside. From this point of view the historical urban centers without healthy environmental characteristics, have lost its attractiveness, vitality and viability and effected the physical, economical and social pattern of the city negatively. The necessity to create an social, physical and economic harmony in the historical center of Istanbul, to eliminate physical and spatial quality loss and to provide the sustainability of its distinguishing character, local image and attractiveness is the primary drive behind choosing this subject. In the case study which consists 2 levels, 10 neighbourhoods selected within 33 which are locating at Historical Peninsula-Istanbul, as research areas. At the first stage, a survey with the business owners and residents was carried out to evaluate their understanding of the urban space they live in by means of functional diversity and quality, social-cultural quality, safety and the quality and attractiveness of physical environment. At the second stage; the urban vitality level of the selected neighbourhoods measured for determining the attractiveness of the area. Using the key indicators of town centre vitality and viability a time series model has been used for determining the changes in the health of the area. In evaluating the vitality level of historical center from physical, economical and social point of view, the primary purpose is to determine the current situation and potentials by examining change and transformations of vitality indicators like; property yields, number of the people living in the area, number of the dwellings, shopping rents, house rents and the area of commercial activity in the certain time intervals (1988-2004) in selected neighoorbourhoods. At the light of the findings re-organisation proposals for historical urban cores (based on the Istanbul example) and strategic approaches for pyhsically and economically more attractive urban spaces has been developed. Keywords urban vitality, functional quality, physical quality, attractiveness, Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2005: Making Spaces for the Creative Economy   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper