**8. Conclusion**

It is obviously clear that cities, especially Trabzon needs urban renewal or revitalisation due to the increasing problems arising from population growth as well as unplanned and dense construction. Urban renewal should be not only a spatial transformation, but also a process in which all the actors are active with a comprehensive, coherent and area-specific approach for the purpose. Urban renewal applications are considered to be more successful when they are made with a more informed, participatory and collaborating planning approach, respecting the people's sensitivity to the city where they live.

or ridiculous mistake, but also an extraordinary experience for all the stakeholders who involve

Unlike the Pelitli suburb example, the regeneration process implemented in Ayasofya (St. Sophia) neighbourhood is an architectural wonder with the church dating back to Trabzon Pontus Greek Empire period, and the neighbourhood, a small-scale commercial as well as residential place. Due to the implemented renewal project, this neighbourhood and the church, now functioning as a historical museum, are relatively more legible. The project has also contributed to the socio-economic and cultural development of the neighbourhood. Especially, the church area is also used for social and recreational activities (**Figure 4**). When looked from the highway passing through the seaside, you cannot stop admiring the natural beauty and architectural structure and success of the urban renewal application in this neighbourhood. In fact, a specific attention must have been paid to this project due to the historical value, natural

**Figure 4.** The examples of different activities: open space photography, TV interview (Photos, Yavuz A.).

So, when slum areas and illegal structures are converted by the urban renewal projects, new housing is being built especially for the low-income citizens and sold to them through longterm and low-interest loans. As a result, prices of housing constructed by the private sector have fallen to a reasonable level due to the competition created for the benefit of people. This urban renewal process increases people's living standards, environmental awareness as well as socio-economic power in a positive way and significantly encourages both urbanisation and modernisation despite relatively harming the existing ecosystem of the urban areas due to some unexpected or unavoidable reasons. But whether or not the urban renewal work done in Trabzon is truly sustainable is not so obvious; and it is hoped that the rubbish policies followed in the past in terms of creating unhealthy and unsustainable urbanisation will remain in the past and never reoccur in the future as repeatedly recurring cancer cases. So, the

It is obviously clear that cities, especially Trabzon needs urban renewal or revitalisation due to the increasing problems arising from population growth as well as unplanned and dense construction. Urban renewal should be not only a spatial transformation, but also a process in

in 'sustainable' urban renewal processes.

172 Sustainable Urbanization

beauty and location of the neighbourhood.

following are considered highly recommendable:

**8. Conclusion**

The city has been described as a living organism. Therefore, urban renewal projects as in Trabzon should get rid of the disease firstly starting in an area and ongoing in the nearby areas, leaping into the. In other words, it is pointless to expect the patient's recovery by making permanent organ transplantation. After the first transplant, you need to wait, observe and assess the situation. In this context, a consistent and rent anxiety-free framework that considers protecting the public with the understanding of social state must be created, if the goal is really urban improvement, upgrading the quality of people's lives, ensuring equal rights to the city dwellers or renew the urban identity. Feedback should be done in the areas of urban renewal, and where and under what conditions the former owners of the area live, should be investi‐ gated. The new data should be assessed and new appropriate strategies be established.



cities

**EVALUATION OF SOCIAL ASPECT WITH ALL SCOPE**: STRONG MANAGEMENT, EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES, SOCIALIZING

**Table 8.** The proposal of location-specific, ecologically based urban renewal model.

In this context, Zağnos valley is the first large-scale project implemented in Trabzon. Therefore, a feedback should have been done by the local government to determine if the renewal application has met the expectations. And the application work in the other areas should have been continued in the light of this feedback results. A holistic approach requiring the renewal application work to be done within the scope of a whole urban planning should be adopted, instead of trying to create an urban integrity with separately implemented renewal projects. In addition, suitability of replaced components to the integrity of the existing structure should be analysed in terms of physical, functional, economic, cultural and social dimensions.

Economic policies exterminating the anxiety of rent, and containing the physical, social and economic arrangements aiming to increase the life quality of the urban dwellers in economic prosperity should be created without excluding the low-income groups from their environ‐ ment or making the rest of their life miserable especially in economic terms. In addition, Keleş emphasizes that there is a direct correlation between the amount of land owned by the public administration and the success of the urban planning effort. He also points out that the states or local governments that have the best planned cities; qualified, open and green spaces; large and smooth roads, but no difficulty in finding appropriate land to meet the necessities such as housing and education also have plenty of land and authority to establish strict control policies on land Keleş [5]. In this context, when creating urban plans, accurate predictions of the future should be emphasized. Besides, it is deemed necessary that substances that define policies of local governments should be added to the Local Government act proposal on the parliament agenda in order to ensure the participation of all actors of urban renewal project applications, the renewal application projects be started in this scope and after application assessments in physical, functional, economic, cultural and social aspects be made.

**The process of determination and application of local governments for urban renewal areas**

funds from different sources

questioning

174 Sustainable Urbanization

create the source

of the city

based cities

cities

SOCIALIZING

**Checking:** To check the success of renewal transformation projects and other projects to make an

**Decision making:** The economic demands of the local users, expectations of criticism and

**Planning:** After the application of the field value which accounted for in the calculation of the project to identify the options in the calculation of the costs for the waste recycling technologies to

**Checking:** To check the success of renewal transformation projects and other projects to make an

**Purpose:**  The current values that contribute to the city's skyline and give to ensure the identity

**Decision making:** The questioning and criticism from the cultural aspects of local users of demand, to determine the structures of historical value, determination of conservation status,

**Planning:** Original in the field, making planning decisions that protects cultural values

**Application:** Migrate to the city should be prevented, people should be informed to ecologically

**Checking:** To check the success of renewal transformation projects and other projects to make an

assessment in terms of functional perspective after to take account of this data **Economic aspect Purpose:** Before go charging property owners the path in the long term, provide for the transfer of

> **Design:** Gain economic benefits by design to meet the needs of the future **Application:** To ensure support of applications for qualified experts

assessment in terms of economic perspective after to take account of this data

making the restoration project and the evaluation of the functional aspects

**Design:** The creation of urban-culture identity projecting design options

assessment in terms of culture perspective after to take account of this data **Purpose:**  The concept of ecological planning with the integration of the sustainability of the urban transformation of

**EVALUATION OF SOCIAL ASPECT WITH ALL SCOPE**: STRONG MANAGEMENT, EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES,

In this context, Zağnos valley is the first large-scale project implemented in Trabzon. Therefore, a feedback should have been done by the local government to determine if the renewal application has met the expectations. And the application work in the other areas should have been continued in the light of this feedback results. A holistic approach requiring the renewal application work to be done within the scope of a whole urban planning should be adopted, instead of trying to create an urban integrity with separately implemented renewal projects. In addition, suitability of replaced components to the integrity of the existing structure should be analysed in terms of physical, functional, economic, cultural and social dimensions.

**Table 8.** The proposal of location-specific, ecologically based urban renewal model.

In the most general sense, urban renewal is a comprehensive vision and overall actions securing the public interest principles at the forefront, and trying for the present and future to ensure a stable and accurate solution to the economic, physical, functional, cultural, social and environmental problems of the regions undergone transformation. Urban renewal must comply with the defined strategy starting from the upper-scale plans and continuing gradually to the lower-scale plans within the integrity of the plan. Besides, ecologically sensitive plans that keep pace with the time and meets the needs of the future should be produced, and urban renewal work be done in accordance with the strategies of these plans. Urban regeneration should be designed and implemented as many constitutions. In addition, urban transforma‐ tion process should be implemented in five phases including decision making, planning, design, implementing and monitoring. A method of transferring external resources to the renewal projects should be developed, and land acquisition conditions should be arranged according to the solvency ratio of the people living in the area and with different options. Regulations should not be unfair in charging. It should be ensured that social segregation be avoided, people with low-income supported and not allowed to be segregated or liquidated from the area. Location specific application models and policies should be created so that the existing users can be provided to sustain their lives in the same area. Historic and cultural values as well as natural areas must be protected in urban renewal projects. The project model should be transparent and free from political concerns, models be created for participation in the process including the application from the beginning to the end and public opinion be taken into consideration.

Finally, provided that the urban renewal applications ongoing in Turkey are carried out in accordance with their purpose just like in the developing countries, the result will definitely be very successful in terms of creating healthy cities and high quality environments. In case, the state and local governments involve in urban renewal application works in order to provide economic or financial benefits to a certain group of people rather than the whole public, they inevitably lead to strong reaction of both the land owners and the city dwellers and also increase social unrest and discrimination. So instead of continuing this approach, a sustainable development of the city should be ensured with urban plans prepared by a holistic approach, not with piecemeal plans that would lead to unplanned urbanisation Yavuz et al. [6]. In this context, what the local governments should do, can be listed as following (**Table 8**). The whole of the current problems should be considered under five headings, and adopt the urban renewal applications including the processes of decision making, planning, design, imple‐ mentation and supervision in the light of the present applications.
