SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING IN NEW URBAN AREAS: The “Bizim Şehir Konya” Project

Öz

This study examines the implementation of sustainable neighborhood planning strategies in the development of new urban areas through the case of the “Bizim Şehir 2023 Konya” project. Developed on approximately 332 hectares of publicly owned land in the Selçuklu district of Konya, the project is analyzed as a planning practice that aims to integrate the concepts of sustainability, local identity, and human scale. The study investigates the 1/1000 scale urban design plan, explanatory reports, and guiding documents of the project, aiming to relate the planning decisions within these materials to the theoretical principles defined in the literature on sustainable neighborhood planning. Within this scope, the research adopts a conceptual evaluation approach and conducts the analysis across four main components: spatial organization, functional diversity, open space systems, and environmental sustainability. The findings indicate that the project’s spatial structure emphasizes a pedestrian-oriented central design, diversity in housing typologies, and climate-sensitive open space strategies. However, the relationship established with sustainability principles appears to be limited in certain dimensions, such as energy efficiency, social integration, and long-term governance structures. The study evaluates both the opportunities and constraints encountered in implementing sustainable neighborhood planning principles in large-scale public land developments in Turkey, providing an analytical perspective on how theoretical sustainability principles are embodied in a local context. In conclusion, it is suggested that the success of similar large-scale initiatives depends on the institutionalization of multi-actor planning processes, the integration of socio-cultural analyses into pre-planning stages, and the strengthening of long-term governance mechanisms.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sustainable neighborhood planning
• human-centered design
• mixed social structure
• green development
• Selçuklu-Konya

YENİ KENTSEL ALANLARDA SÜRDÜRÜLEBİLİR MAHALLE PLANLAMASI: “Bizim Şehir Konya” Projesi örneği

Öz

Bu çalışma, yeni kentsel alanların geliştirilmesinde sürdürülebilir mahalle planlama stratejilerinin uygulanma biçimlerini “Bizim Şehir 2023 Konya” projesi üzerinden incelemektedir. Konya’nın Selçuklu ilçesinde, yaklaşık 332 hektarlık kamu mülkiyetine ait bir alanda geliştirilen proje, sürdürülebilirlik, yerel kimlik ve insan ölçeği kavramlarını bütünleştirmeyi hedefleyen bir planlama deneyimi olarak ele alınmıştır. Çalışma, projeye ait 1/1000 ölçekli kentsel tasarım planı, plan açıklama raporları ve yönlendirici belgeleri inceleyerek, bu belgelerde yer alan planlama kararlarını sürdürülebilir mahalle planlaması literatüründe tanımlanan kuramsal ilkelerle ilişkilendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu kapsamda araştırma, kavramsal değerlendirme yaklaşımı temelinde yürütülmüş; analiz süreci, mekânsal organizasyon, fonksiyonel çeşitlilik, açık alan sistemi ve çevresel sürdürülebilirlik bileşenleri üzerinden gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bulgular, projenin mekânsal kurgusunda yaya öncelikli merkez tasarımı, konut tipolojilerinde çeşitlilik ve iklim duyarlı açık alan kararlarının öne çıktığını göstermektedir. Bununla birlikte, enerji etkinliği, sosyal bütünleşme ve uzun vadeli yönetişim yapıları gibi boyutlarda sürdürülebilirlik ilkeleriyle kurulan ilişkinin sınırlı olduğu gözlenmiştir. Çalışma, Türkiye’de kamu mülkiyetli büyük alanlarda sürdürülebilir mahalle planlaması ilkelerinin uygulanmasında karşılaşılan olanak ve kısıtları birlikte değerlendirmekte; kavramsal düzeyde sürdürülebilirlik ilkelerinin yerel bağlamda nasıl somutlaştığına ilişkin analitik bir bakış sunmaktadır. Sonuç olarak, benzer ölçekli projelerde başarıya ulaşılabilmesi için çok aktörlü planlama süreçlerinin kurumsallaştırılması, sosyo-kültürel analizlerin planlama öncesi aşamada zorunlu hale getirilmesi ve uzun vadeli yönetişim mekanizmalarının güçlendirilmesi gerekmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sürdürülebilir mahalle planlama
• insan odaklı tasarım
• karma sosyal yapı
• yeşil gelişim
• Selçuklu-Konya

Kaynakça

1. Amado, M., Poggi, F., & Amado, A. R. (2016). Energy efficient city: a model for urban planning. Sustainable Cities and Society, 26, 476-485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.04.011
2. Andersson, E., Borgström, S., Haase, D., Langemeyer, J., Wolff, M., & McPhearson, T. (2021). Urban resilience thinking in practice : Ensuring flows of benefit from green and blue infrastructure. Ecology and Society, 26(4). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12691-260439
3. Arip, M. S. M., Lim, S. B., Teriman, S., Rashid, K., Ahmad, A. L., & Azman, A. A. (2024). The impact of smart city technologies at the neighbourhood level: A review. International Journal of Business and Technology Management, 6(4), 385-396.
4. Berardi, U. (2013). Clarifying the new interpretations of the concept of sustainable building. Sustainable Cities and Society, 8, 72-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2013.01.008
5. Bizim Şehir Projesi. (2020). Kentsel tasarım açıklama raporu. [Yayımlanmamış rapor]. Çevre ve Şehircilik İklim Değişikliği Bakanlığı
6. Caprotti, F. (2014). Eco-cities and the transition to low carbon economies. UK: Springer.
7. Civan, D., & Cengiz, S. G. (2023). Kentsel sürdürülebilirliğin geliştirilmesine yönelik yeşil altyapı uygulamaları. İnönü Üniversitesi Sanat ve Tasarım Dergisi (27), 72-84. https://doi.org/10.16950/iujad.1316489
8. Conticelli, E. (2020). Compact city as a model achieving sustainable development. W. Leal Filho, A. Marisa Azul, L. Brandli, P. Gökçin Özuyar, & T. Wall (Ed.), Sustainable cities and communities içinde (ss. 100-108). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95717-3_35

9. Das, S., Choudhury, M. R., Chatterjee, B., Das, P., Bagri, S., Paul, D., Bera, M. & Dutta, S. (2024). Unraveling the urban climate crisis: Exploring the nexus of urbanization, climate change, and their impacts on the environment and human well-being – A global perspective. AIMS Public Health, 11(3), 963-1001, https://doi.org/10.3934/publichealth.2024050
10. Domenech, T., & Borrion, A. (2022). Embedding circular economy principles into urban regeneration and waste management: Framework and metrics. Sustainability, 14(3), 1293. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031293
11. Droege, P. (2002). Renewable energy and the city: Urban life in an age of fossil fuel depletion and climate change. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 22(2), 87-99. https://doi.org/10.1177/0270467602022002003
12. Ewing, R., & Cervero, R. (2010). Travel and the built environment: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Planning Association, 76(3), 265–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944361003766766
13. Fraker, H. (2013). Vauban, Freiburg, Germany. H. Fraker (Ed.), The hidden potential of sustainable neighborhoods: Lessons from low-carbon communities içinde (ss. 97-119) Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-409-3_5
14. Gehl, J. (2013). Cities for people. Washington, DC: Island press.
15. Greater Sydney Commission. (2018, 27 Mart). North district plan: Connecting communities in Greater Sydney 2056. https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-04/north-district-plan.pdf
16. Hodge, J. and Haltrecht, J. (2010). BedZED seven years on: The impact of the UK’s best known eco-village and its residents. [Internet]. London: BioReginal. https://www.bioregional.com/resources/bedzed-7-years-on
17. Habibi, S. (2019). Improving building envelope performance with respect to thermal, sound insulation, and lighting: A case study. Building Acoustics, 26(4), 243-262. https://doi.org/10.1177/1351010X19877280
18. Heath, T., Oc, T., & Tiesdell, S. (2011). Public places-urban spaces. UK: Routledge.
19. Howard, E. (2003). Garden cities of to-morrow. Organization & Environment, 16(1), 98-107. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026602250259
20. Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. New York: Vintage Books.
21. Joss, S. (2011). Eco-cities: The mainstreaming of urban sustainability–key characteristics and driving factors. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, 6(3), 268-285. https://www.witpress.com/elibrary/sdp/6/3/529#:~:text=10.2495/SDP%2DV6%2DN3%2D268%2D285
22. Karateke, H. (2024). Green space and public space location selection for a sustainable neighborhood: Keçiören example. Journal of Optimization and Decision Making, 3(2), 485-506. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/jodm/issue/89526/1374061#article_cite
23. Kenworthy, J. R. (2006). The eco-city: Ten key transport and planning dimensions for sustainable city development. Environment and Urbanization, 18(1), 67-85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247806063947
24. Lehmann, S. (2016). Sustainable urbanism: Towards a framework for quality and optimal density? Future Cities and Environment, 2(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40984-016-0021-3
25. Liu, Z., Ma, J., & Chai, Y. (2017). Neighborhood-scale urban form, travel behavior, and CO2 emissions in Beijing: Implications for low-carbon urban planning. Urban Geography, 38(3), 381-400. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2016.1191796
26. McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6-23. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6629(198601)14:1<6::AID-JCOP2290140103>3.0.CO;2-I
27. Milder, J. (2012). Sustainable urban form. E. van Bueren, H. van Bohemen, L. Itard, & H. Visscher (Ed.), Sustainable urban environments: An ecosystem approach içinde (ss. 263-284). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1294-2_10
28. Moos, M., Whitfield, J., Johnson, L. C., & Andrey, J. (2006). Does design matter? The ecological footprint as a planning tool at the local level. Journal of Urban Design, 11(2), 195-224. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574800600644381
29. Neuman, M. (2005). The compact city fallacy. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 25(1), 11-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X04270466
30. Papas, T., Basbas, S., & Campisi, T. (2023). Urban mobility evolution and the 15-minute city model: From holistic to bottom-up approach. Transportation Research Procedia, 69, 544-551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2023.02.206
31. Perry, C. (2020). “The neighborhood unit”: From the regional plan of New York and its environs (1929). R. T. LeGates, & F. Stout (Ed.), The city reader içinde (ss. 557-569). London: Routledge.
32. Rodrigues, A., Formiga, K., & Milograna, J. (2023). Integrated systems for rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse: A systematic review of urban water management strategies. Water Supply, 23(10), 4112-4125. https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2023.240
33. Sharifi, A. (2016). From garden city to eco-urbanism: The quest for sustainable neighborhood development. Sustainable Cities and Society, 20, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2015.09.002
34. Shirazi, M. R. (2020). Compact urban form: Neighbouring and social activity. Sustainability, 12(5), 1987. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051987
35. Shrivastava, V., & Sinha, K. (2025). A conceptual framework for promoting neighborhood social sustainability: A review of literature. Future Cities and Environment, 11. https://doi.org/10.70917/fce-2025-001
36. Stanislav, A., & Chin, J. T. (2019). Evaluating livability and perceived values of sustainable neighborhood design: New urbanism and original urban suburbs. Sustainable Cities and Society, 47, 101517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101517
37. UN. (2025). The Sustainable Development Goals Report. https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11 adresinden 04.07.2025’te alınmıştır.
38. Ulusoy, E. N., (2018, 15 Eylül) Bizim Şehir Projesi için 4 ilde pilot uygulama yapılıyor!. Emlakkulisi.com. https://emlakkulisi.com/bizim-sehir-projesi-icin-4-ilde-pilot-uygulama-yapiliyor/582283 adresinden 30.09.2025’te alınmıştır.
39. Ünal, S. G., & Erol, D. (2020). Sürdürülebilir mahalle planlamasının değişimi, planlamada yeni eğilim “EkoYer” yaklaşımı ve Türkiye’de uygulanabilirliği. Planlama Dergisi, 30(1), 15-35. https://jag.journalagent.com/planlama/pdfs/PLAN_30_1_15_35.pdf
40. Veloso, Á., Fonseca, F., & Ramos, R. (2024). Insights from smart city initiatives for urban sustainability and contemporary urbanism. Smart Cities, 7(6), 3188-3209. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities7060124
41. Zhang, Q., Yung, E. H. K., & Chan, E. H. W. (2018). Towards sustainable neighborhoods: Challenges and opportunities for neighborhood planning in transitional urban China. Sustainability, 10(2), 406. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10020406