Examination of Graduate Theses on Universal Design in Public Spaces

Public spaces are common use spaces used by all users in society. Public places, which are places where users meet their daily needs, socialize and communicate, are effective in increasing the level of social consciousness in users, as well as providing common social activity areas for users. Since public spaces serve many different types of users, these spaces should be designed in such a way that the user can move independently in all areas and use the spaces comfortably. At this point, we are faced with the concept of universal design, which allows us to design inclusive, accessible, clutter-free and transportable spaces. Within the scope of this study, it is aimed to examine the studies in which the concept of universal design in public spaces is discussed with the idea that public spaces, which are characterized as common use spaces, should be accessible to everyone. In this direction, in the study, the graduate studies conducted on this subject in our country were examined. In this context firstly, “universal design”, “design for all” and “inclusive design” keywords scan in the postgraduate thesis center in Turkey and nineteen thesis has been reached. Thesis were examined by document analysis method. As a result of the study, suggestions have been made to increase the postgraduate thesis studies in which the concept of universal design in public spaces is discussed.