"District Parks" are large-scaled parks served at district level which supply the recreation demand of many neighbourhoods. This type of park has a service capacity approximately 30000-35000 people in 1-2 km. area and neighbourhoods group takes place in it's effect area. Service characteristics and effect area characteristics put forward the importance of district parks in urban recreational system. And the level of using and functionality gain importance for district parks. Obtaining functionality and increasing the level of using/serving can be realized with "design quality of the park". At the same time, design quality is an important determiner at preference for park users. In this study, it is accepted the main hypothesis that; the subjective and objective design characteristics must be considered and evaluated together to create design quality of the park at functional, aesthetical and technical level. In this context, the design characteristics of Kumarlı District Park are examined and it is put forward the determiner design indicators of design quality. "Kumarlı Park" is selected and examined in Kayseri City as the sample area. Because it is the only park which has district park characteristics according to the size criteria (8ha-40ha) and function criteria (functional diversity level) in the city. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the necessary designing criteria for parks with examining the “objective and subjective design characteristics of sample park. The technical characteristics of uses (equipments, urban furniture, and floor) and vegetation/plants (natural and artificial green elements) are examined in the context of "objective characteristics" by using survey analysis and observation method. Both uses and plants are examined according to their technical conditions such as type, diversity, location, number and sufficiency. Material quality and harmony is a distinctive factor for uses and visual/aesthetic using is a distinctive factor for plants at the evaluation. The user -design- evaluations are examined in the context of "subjective characteristics". Using conditions of both uses and plants are examined according to the subjective evaluations such as sufficiency, usability, accessibility, comfort and cleanliness. Subjective design characteristics are analyzed with using a questionnaire method. The questionnaire is applied by random sampling in every region of the park. Sample size is determined at 200 persons. The average answer time of the questionnaire is determined as 10 minutes. The questionnaire is applied in 2008 at June and July months. The level of park using is high at these months in the city. The context of the questionnaire is composed of 20 different questions for to obtain the design evaluations of users. The subjects of the questions are determined as: (1) Sufficiency of green area existence in the park, (2) Sufficiency of green area and plant using in the park, (3) Night using situation of the park, (4) Comfort level of accessibility/circulation inside the park, (5) Sufficiency, comfortability, location and distribution of sitting units in the park, (6) Cleanness and maintenance of the park, (7) Insufficient uses in the park, (8) Disturbed characteristics and expected regulations in the park area. At the end of the study, with the comparison of subjective and objective characteristics, the necessary design criteria and indicators are determined which have to be considered at the creation of functional park design with the high level of using. And some proposals are put forward to increase the design quality of Kumarlı Park. The main design indicators -necessary- to put forward the design quality of the park, those must be take into consideration are determined as: (1) Conservative place existence according to natural conditions (wind rain, sunshine) and environmental conditions (loud noise), (2) Shady sitting place existence for long time sitting and resting, (3) Sufficient and suitable lighting for security and night using, (4)Accessibility comfort to function areas, (5) Sufficiency of number of sitting units, comfort and accessibility, (6) Cleanliness level of lake and water bodies and regular collecting of rubbish, (7)The diversity of social-cultural activities and units and the diversity level of functional areas. Keywords: District park, objective characteristics, subjective evaluations, design criteria."Semt Parkları", 1-2 km içinde yaklaşık 30000-35000 nüfusa hizmet eden ve birden çok mahallenin rekreasyon talebini karşılayan büyük ölçekli parklardır. Hizmet ve etki alanı büyüklüğüne göre, kentsel rekreasyon sistemi ve park kullanımı içerisindeki yeri ve önemi göz önünde bulundurulduğunda, bu parklar için kullanım/hizmet düzeyinin arttırılması ve işlevsellik daha fazla önem kazanmaktadır. Hizmet/kullanım düzeyinin arttırılması ve parkın daha işlevsel kullanımında en önemli etken kaliteli tasarım ve planlamadır. Tasarımın kalitesi, tercih üzerinde temel belirleyici olarak da etkili olmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, park tasarımında işlevsel, estetik ve teknik düzeyde kaliteli tasarım yaratılması için nesnel ve öznel tasarım özelliklerinin birlikte ele alınması ve değerlendirilmesi gerekliliğinden yola çıkılarak, Kumarlı semt parkı örneklem alan olarak incelenmiştir. Nesnel tasarım özellikleri kapsamında, alan analizi yöntemi ile yapısal ve bitkisel elemanların teknik özellikleri (yapısal ve bitkisel tasarım elemanlarının tür, çeşitlilik, konumlanma, sayı ve yeterlilik koşulları, yapısal elemanlar için kullanılan malzemelerin kalitesi ve uyumu, bitkisel elemanlar için tasarımda görsel ve estetik amaçlı kullanım düzeyleri) ele alınmıştır. Öznel tasarım özellikleri kapsamında, tasarım öğelerinin kullanım koşullarına (yeterlilik, kullanılabilirlik, erişebilirlik, konfor ve temizlik) yönelik kullanıcı değerlendirmeleri anket yöntemiyle sorgulanmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda, kullanım-hizmet düzeyi yüksek ve işlevsel park tasarımı yaratılmasına yönelik olarak göz önünde bulundurulması gerekli tasarım ölçütleri belirlenmiş ve Kumarlı Parkının tasarım kalitesinin arttırılmasına yönelik öneriler sunulmuştur. Anahtar Kelimeler: Semt parkı, nesnel özellikler, öznel değerlendirmeler, tasarım ölçütleri
