Project-Based Urban Renewal and Transformation of Urban Landscape in Turkey

Nowadays, the effects of capital-based decisions and, therefore transformation has effects on the structure of the existing city, the physical, social, and economic future of the people living in that city, and consequently all the traditions of the city. In this process, the urban landscape rapidly changes and the public urban landscape areas are replaced by the private landscape areas in many cities. In the recent period, within the scope of space’s meaning changing for the capitalism and capital accumulation, the cities are rapidly renewed with a model that can be named “project-based urban renewal.” The objective of this research is to determine the problems of project-based urban renewal approach and to examine the effects on the urban landscape in Turkey. For this purpose, Kayseri city that comes to the forefront with its planned development history since the proclamation of the Republic in Turkey was selected as the study area. In the study, the project-based renewal projects built in Kayseri province and the changes in the urban landscape were comparatively examined at urban level and structure level in terms of uniform structuring, increase in the density, devastation in the green system, privatization of the public space, and gentrification

Delineation of the Path Dependence in Development of Central Business Districts (CBD) in Turkey's Kayseri

This article examines the demolition-oriented restructuring relationship during urban development processes in the case study of the central business district in Kayseri (Turkey) by systematically analysing externally-conditioned events and trajectories. This transformation, characterised by changing periods of development and the analysis of the actors who are particularly active in the process, is explored through the socio-spatial developments in Kayseri. In this study, this has been expounded through the concept of path dependence, which states that current conditions are more dependent on past events and those past events lead to today's results. The decisions on the historically contingent periods and three critical junctures identified in the study were found to have been maintained until the next stage and strengthened by following the path-dependent tendency

The assessessment of rural tourism potential of Balıkesir

Toplumların sosyo- ekonomik gelişmelerine bağlı olarak seyahat tercihlerinde de birtakım değişiklikler meydana gelmeye başlamıştır. Bu nedenle, değişen turizm talebine cevap verebilmek, turizmden daha fazla fayda sağlayabilmek ve rakipler karşısında rekabet üstünlüğü elde edebilmek için farklı turizm çeşitlerinin geliştirilmesi oldukça önemli hale gelmiştir. Alternatif turizm çeşitlerinden biri de, kırsal turizmdir. Günümüzde şehirleşmenin beraberinde getirdiği artan gürültü, çevre kirliliği, tekdüzelik, stres, vb. yaşanan pek çok olumsuzluk, turizm anlayışının da yavaş yavaş kırsal turizmi benimser bir hal almaya başlamasını sağlamıştır. Türkiye, kırsal turizm için elverişli bir coğrafi yapıya, kültürel ve beşeri bir dokuya sahiptir. Sahip olunan bu zengin kaynaklar ile, kırsal turizmde artan talebi karşılayabilir, kırsal turizmden önemli bir pay alabilir, sağlayacağı avantajlardan fazlasıyla yararlanabilir. Ancak tüm turizm çeşitlerinde olduğu gibi, kırsal turizmden de bahsederken yöresel analizlerin yapılmasının önemli olduğunu söylemek gerekmektedir. Kırsal turizme yönelik yöresel imkanların tespit edilmesi ülke genelinde turizm stratejilerinin daha gerçekçi bir şekilde belirlenmesi açısından oldukça önemlidir. Kırsal turizm açısından gelişme potansiyeline sahip her bir yörenin ayrıntılı bir şekilde güçlü ve zayıf yanlarının, tehdit ve fırsatlarının ortaya konulması böylelikle yol haritasının oluşturulması gerekmektedir. Çalışmamızın temel amacı da bu düşünce üzerine kuruludur. Ülkemizin kırsal turizm açısından önemli bir yöresi olabilecek ve 2023 Türkiye turizm stratejisinde de önemi vurgulanan Balıkesir ilinin kırsal turizm potansiyeli değerlendirilecek ve geliştirilmesi için önerilerde bulunulacaktır.Depending on the socio-economic development of societies, some changes have begun to occur in their travel preferences. Thus, it has been important that different types of tourism be developed in order to meet the changing tourism demand, to provide more benefits from tourism and to obtain a competitive advantage against the rivals. One of the alternative tourism types is rural tourism. Today, the increasing noise, environment pollution, monotony, stress and so many negatives brought about by urbanization have allowed understanding of tourism to start to adopt rural tourism slowly. Turkey has a favourable geographic, cultural and humanity structure for rural tourism. Through all these rich resources, the increasing demand for rural tourism can be met, a considerable amount of share can be gained and many advantages can be taken. However, as in all types of tourism, it is essential to express that local analysis be carried out while dealing with rural tourism. The determination of local facilities for rural tourism is very important in that strategies of tourism all across the country should be identified in a more realistic way. It is necessary that the strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities of each region having the potential to develop in terms of rural tourism be exhibited in detail, creating a roadmap. The main aim of this study is based on this idea. The rural tourism potential of Balıkesir, which can be an important region in terms of rural tourism in our country and the importance of which is highlighted in 2023 Türkiye Tourism Strategy, will be evaluated and proposals will be made on development of this cit

Identification of the Retrofit Actions to Achieve Cost-Optimal and NZEB Levels for Residential Buildings in Istanbul Considering the Remaining Building Lifetime

Cost-optimal and nearly-zero energy building (NZEB) levels are two interrelated concepts identified for upgrading energy performance of buildings in Europe. In parallel, many research activities on retrofitting existing buildings in Turkey follow the methodology framework introduced by the European Commission. However, in Turkey, there is a process called “urban transformation” due to the earthquake risk, but the practice is based on new construction after demolishment of existing buildings. Especially in Istanbul, this process has been conducted rapidly. This specific aspect requires assessment of cost-optimal retrofit analyses considering the remaining lifespan of analysed buildings. This study presents a cost-optimality assessment method for retrofitting towards NZEB in Turkey. The method integrates payback period and investment cost assessment to the methodology in order to obtain whole picture for retrofit alternatives. In the paper, suggested method is applied to a reference residential building in Istanbul. After the initial cost-optimal analyses, payback periods and initial investment costs for selected retrofit packages are assessed considering the future lifespan of the building. Together with these, possible subsidy opportunities are also investigated. Results show that, if the expected future lifespan is higher than 10 years, retrofit actions achieving 56.2kWh/m2y primary energy consumption level are considerable. Subsidies are beneficial to obtain reasonable initial investment costs

Effect of Economic Indicators on Cost-Optimal Energy Performance Levels of Residential Buildings Retrofits in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey

This study aims to analyse the effect of economic indicators on cost-optimal levels of residential building retrofits in Mediterranean region of Turkey. Sensitivity analyses were applied on the cost-optimality calculation results for the residential reference building. The sensitivity analyses address discount rate and potential investment cost decreases. Results reveal that 6% variation in the discount rate corresponds to more than 30 kWh/m2y difference in the primary energy consumption of the cost-optimal solutions. Potential investment cost decreases for certain retrofit measures are also effective on identified cost-optimal levels and subsidy opportunities appear as an effective tool to achieve higher energy efficiency in existing buildings and to stimulate building energy retrofits

Identification of the Retrofit Actions to Achieve Cost-Optimal and NZEB Levels for Residential Buildings in Istanbul Considering the Remaining Building Lifetime

Cost-optimal and nearly-zero energy building (NZEB) levels are two interrelated concepts identified for upgrading energy performance of buildings in Europe. In parallel, many research activities on retrofitting existing buildings in Turkey follow the methodology framework introduced by the European Commission. However, in Turkey, there is a process called "urban transformation" due to the earthquake risk, but the practice is based on new construction after demolishment of existing buildings. Especially in Istanbul, this process has been conducted rapidly. This specific aspect requires assessment of cost-optimal retrofit analyses considering the remaining lifespan of analysed buildings. This study presents a cost-optimality assessment method for retrofitting towards NZEB in Turkey. The method integrates payback period and investment cost assessment to the methodology in order to obtain whole picture for retrofit alternatives. In the paper, suggested method is applied to a reference residential building in Istanbul. After the initial cost-optimal analyses, payback periods and initial investment costs for selected retrofit packages are assessed considering the future lifespan of the building. Together with these, possible subsidy opportunities are also investigated. Results show that, if the expected future lifespan is higher than 10 years, retrofit actions achieving 56.2kWh/m2y primary energy consumption level are considerable. Subsidies are beneficial to obtain reasonable initial investment costs

Assessment of plasma and tissue fibronectin EIIIB splice variant expressions measured serially using RT-PCR in a wound model of rabbits

Background: Fibronectin (FN) is an indispensable part of the extracellular matrix. During regeneration or wound healing, the plasma form of FN is incorporated into the fibrin clots to form a temporary fibrin-FN matrix, and also locally synthesized cellular FN migrates to the clot to regenerate the injured tissue. We aimed to examine wound tissue FN EIIIB and plasma FN EIIIB expression levels in an experimental wound healing model in rabbits. Methods: Plasma and tissue EIIIB splice variant expressions were measured serially with RT-qPCR in a cutaneous wound model of rabbits. Results: Tissue FN expression increased as beginning on day 3 and continued to increase on days 6 and 9, reaching maximum expression at day 12 before starting to decrease. On the contrary to the tissue levels, plasma FN levels gradually decreased until day 15 when expression returned to the initial values. Conclusion: The findings of the current study support that tissue EIIIB expression level increases during wound healing; and plasma EIIIB expression level decreases minimal changed. This is in contrast to reports where plasma FN provisionally helps ECM formation. Therefore, our data show an essential role of EIIIB at the tissue level in accelerating the wound healing process. The RT-qPCR method in our experimental setup can provide more accurate and precise results compared to the antibody-based methods

Estimating Cognitive Load in a Mobile Personal Health Record Application: A Cognitive Task Analysis Approach

Objectives Mobile health applications that are designed without considering usability criteria can lead to cognitive overload, resulting in the rejection of these apps. To avoid this problem, the user interface of mobile health applications should be evaluated for cognitive load. This evaluation can contribute to the improvement of the user interface and help prevent cognitive overload for the user. Methods In this study, we evaluated a mobile personal health records application using the cognitive task analysis method, specifically the goals, operators, methods, and selection rules (GOMS) approach, along with the related updated GOMS model and gesture-level model techniques. The GOMS method allowed us to determine the steps of the tasks and categorize them as physical or cognitive tasks. We then estimated the completion times of these tasks using the updated GOMS model and gesture-level model. Results All 10 identified tasks were split into 398 steps consisting of mental and physical operators. The time to complete all the tasks was 5.70 minutes and 5.45 minutes according to the updated GOMS model and gesture-level model, respectively. Mental operators covered 73% of the total fulfillment time of the tasks according to the updated GOMS model and 76% according to the gesture-level model. The inter-rater reliability analysis yielded an average of 0.80, indicating good reliability for the evaluation method. Conclusions The majority of the task execution times comprised mental operators, suggesting that the cognitive load on users is high. To enhance the application’s implementation, the number of mental operators should be reduced