Occupant Views on Environmental Effects of Trabzon Square Urban Transformation Project

ABSTRACT In the present study, the occupancy of the square, located in Trabzon urban center, Turkey and originally christened as Atatürk Square but called “the square” or “the square park” by local residents, serving both as a square and a park and renovated with an urban transformation project, was discussed. A survey was conducted with 123 individuals to determine how the occupants perceived the environmental properties of the renovated square park after the urban transformation project. In the survey, their visit frequency, the time they spent in the park, the activities they preferred to conduct in the park, the environmental features they liked in the park, and their satisfaction with the facilities offered in the park were questioned. The study findings demonstrated that the occupancy duration and frequency were high, the park was predominantly used for resting activity, it provided a variety of activity facilities, mostly sitting furniture were preferred among environmental properties, occupant satisfaction was high and satisfaction was affected by the diversity of available activities the most. The study findings also revealed that the Trabzon Square urban transformation provided a more habitable space for the citizens.