Çiğdem Sakici

Assessing Landscape Perceptions of Urban Waterscapes

Abstract Water is one of the most significant design elements that contributes to people feeling good physically, behaviorally and psychologically. This paper aims to reveal the landscape values of various water compositions. As a result of the assessment of 20 different water compositions using a questionnaire and landscape assessment approach in different places in Edirne, the effects of water on landscape perceptions and preferences were revealed. With the help of the questionnaire answered by 100 people, visual preferences of the users, feelings and assessment of waters with the predetermined adjective pairs and landscape values were revealed for different water features. Variation analysis, correlation analysis and factor analysis were used in the study. It was found that waters with different features created different effects and they got higher values in terms of visual-spatial effects and functionality criteria when assessed in terms of landscape values. It was also revealed that natural and almost natural water scenes, wide water surfaces and silent or almost silent water scenes created a feeling of tranquility.

The Psychological Contributions of Natural Site Experiences in Kastamonu, Turkey

Abstract The present paper was carried out on 47 nature lover participants from different cities in Turkey that were brought together within the framework of the Nature Training Project and whose demographic backgrounds (age, education level, profession, income level, gender) were completely different from one another and who did not know one another previously. The participants were trained for one week by a number of expert trainers about nature on both theoretical and applied levels at the Pinarbasi district of Kastamonu. They were taken to the difficult-to-access untouched areas, where different geological formations can be found, to areas full of historic structures, waterfalls, canyons, caves, and national parks, and were informed about these areas and their flora and fauna. They were asked to listen to the natural sounds (wind, birds, water, leaves, etc.), to smell the soil and plants and to perceive different colors in nature. It was aimed to identify the changes in the moods of these people as well as the characteristics of nature that resulted in these changes. Besides, the present paper aims to determine which activities these people enjoyed the most in natural sites. The obtained results informed that natural site experiences had a positive impact on the participants, and helped them gain awareness, release stress, and achieve a more positive state of mind.

The Organization of Psychiatric Hospital Gardens (Open Space Therapy Units) and The Criterions Need to Be Considered

Urban open and green spaces provide health to individuals and reinforce their health situations. Sakici (2009) gave the name of ‘open space therapy units’ to psychiatric hospital gardens and she asserts these units have healing, therapeutic and health-giving effects on people who have psychiatric or mental disorders such as psychological traumas and overstrains. Open space therapy units are one of the most required spaces for psychiatric hospitals as well as during patients’ treatment processes as they help patients by touching to nature to regain their lost abilities, to socialize to each other, to get away their stress and troubles, and to feel at peace themselves. The importance of open space healing units, their spatial organization and contributions to users issues are quiet new in Turkish context and elaborative studies on these issues have not been investigated, yet. On the other hand, the importance of these units and other issues have better understandings in abroad and the number of the studies related to these issues have been increasing in recent years. There are number of subjects required to be researched in this new field. Therefore, the purposes of this paper are to create design decisions for hospital gardens by adhering to existing design programs and to present the criterions need to be considered while organizing these gardens. In this sense, it is thought that this study is going to fill an important gap in this study field and present beneficial results for it

An Investigation on The Usage of Plant Material in Open Green Spaces in Kastamonu City Center

Acik yesil alanlar hem fizyolojik hem psikolojik acidan son derece onemlidir. Calisma kapsaminda Kastamonu kent merkezinde bulunan yogun kullanima sahip sekiz kamusal acik yesil alanda kullanilan bitki materyali degerlendirilmis olup bu alanlarda bitki sayimi ve incelemeleri yapilarak odunsu bitkilerin turleri, sayilari, ozellikleri ve kullanim amaclari irdelenmistir. Sonuc olarak Kastamonu kamusal acik yesil alanlarinda toplamda 43 farkli bitki taksonunun kullanildigi ortaya cikmistir. Bu alanlarda kullanilan bitkilerin daha cok estetik amacli kullanildigi, fonksiyonel acidan kullanimlarinin yaygin olmadigi calisma kapsaminda belirlenmistir