Children’s Understanding of the Concept of Child-Friendly Places and Their Assessment of Their Living Environments: The Case of Istanbul

Yıl 2015, Cilt: 6 Sayı: 17, 140 - 181, 30.09.2015

Yücel Can Severcan

Öz

This paper aims to investigate whether children living
in Istanbul view their neighborhoods as ‘child-friendly’ based on their
understanding of the concept of ‘child-friendly places’. In this context, the
author focuses on the results of a child-friendly city project, which was
conducted with approximately 240 nine- to-eleven-year-old children living in
six neighborhoods of Istanbul. Data are obtained from focus groups, nominal
groups, and mapping and neighborhood planning workshops. Results show that
local governments, which participated in the project, failed to meet the
commitments they have made to children in the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, Agenda 21 and the Habitat Agenda. It was found that many children do not
view their neighborhood as a child-friendly place. Many children supported
their views by referring to the following problems of their neighborhoods:  the lack of environmental (spatial) quality,
poor social capital, and safety and security issues. The author argues that the
methods and results discussed here would help researchers interested in
conducting similar studies and enlighten local governments in the production of
more child-friendly environments.  

Anahtar Kelimeler

Child-Friendly Place, Child-Friendly Cities, Children’s Assessment Of Their Environments, Focus Groups, Nominal Group, Mapping Workshops, Neighborhood Planning Workshops

Çocukların Gözünden Çocuk Dostu Yer Kavramı ve Yaşanılan Çevrelerin Değerlendirilmesi: İstanbul Örneği

Öz

Bu makale,
çocuk dostu yer kavramının İstanbul’da yaşayan çocuklar için ne anlam ifade
ettiğini, bu tanım bağlamında yaşadıkları mahalleleri çocuk dostu olarak görüp
görmediklerini nedenleriyle anlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu kapsamda yazar,
İstanbul’un altı mahallesinde 9-11 yaş aralığındaki yaklaşık 240 çocuğun
katıldığı bir çocuk dostu şehir projesindeki grup söyleşisi (odak grup ve
nominal grup), haritalama ve mahalle planlama atölyesinde elde ettiği bulguları
okuyucuya sunmaktadır. Bulgular, İstanbul’daki çalışmaya dahil olan yerel
yönetimlerin, Birleşmiş Milletler Çocuk Hakları Sözleşmesi’nde, Gündem 21’de ve
Habitat Ajandası’nda belirtilen hükümlere uyma konusunda yetersiz kaldıklarını
göstermektedir. Çalışmada yer alan çocukların büyük bir kısmı, çeşitli nedenden
dolayı mahallesini çocuk dostu görmemektedir. En fazla üzerinde durulan sorunlar yaşanılan çevrelerin
mekânsal ve sosyal nitelik sorunları ve bu yerlerin güvensiz ve emniyetsiz
oluşları ile ilişkilidir. Bu makalede paylaşılan yöntem ve bulgular ile benzer
çalışmaları yürütmek isteyen araştırmacılara yol gösterilmesi ve yerel
yönetimlerin daha çocuk dostu çevreler yaratma konusunda bilinçlendirilmesi
hedeflenmektedir.  

Anahtar Kelimeler

Çocuk Dostu Yer, Çocuk Dostu Şehirler, Çocukların Çevrelerini Değerlendirmesi, Odak Grup, Nominal Grup, Haritalama Çalışması, Mahalle Planlama Atölyeleri

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