Rural tourism is seen as a new type of tourism in order to strengthen the economic structure by evaluating the cultural, natural and historical potentials in rural areas. On the rise of tourism, individuals’ quest for new life experiences, departure from the crowd of metropolitan areas, and the desire to being closer to nature and experience different forms of culture and life are influential. Rural areas have a great potential to satisfy these demands. Furthermore, rural tourism development contributes to local development, and to local potential based on human capital. The aim of this study is to analyze the basic structure of tourism enterprises that are the main actors of economic development in Beypazarı District, which stands out among the surrounding districts of Ankara province with the potential of rural tourism, and to discuss the possible effects of the emergence of rural tourism perception among entrepreneurs on local development. A survey was conducted with 62 tourism enterprises in the Beypazarı District. The results of the research reveal that female labor force in Beypazarı has an important part as an entrepreneur and that the number of female that shifted from being housewife to entrepreneur isn’t low. In Beypazari, the entrepreneurs of rural tourism enterprises agree on the positive effects of rural tourism on local development. It is also seen that in Beypazarı, the entrepreneurs have a perception that although there is possibilities in tourism, local potentials are not used enough, and the evaluation of the social effects of rural tourism differs according to the gender and educational status of the entrepreneur. The findings of the research can provide clues as to the place and the importance of rural tourism in local development studies, and beyond that, they can guide the improvement of local development strategies.

In recent local development approaches, the actor-oriented approaches come to the agenda with reference to governance debates. When local development is addressed actor-oriented, it faces a problem of capacity building rising from the limits of the actors’ capacity. In actor-oriented local development approaches NGOs, as representatives of civil society, are among the main actors. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the role and the effectiveness of NGOs in local development and local capacity building. The main research questions of the paper are formulated as: (1)How do NGOs perceive themselves and other NGOs at contributing to the locality? (2)Which NGO characteristics and NGO manager characteristics determine the level of local capacity development? (3)In what areas do NGOs conduct projects to improve local capacity? In order to search for answers to the research questions, Antakya is determined as the research area, the number of NGOs of which is above the Turkey’s average. In the field research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 80 NGO managers operating in Antakya Central District. The results of the research reveal that the NGO characteristics (size, establishment year, domain of influence) do not make a meaningful difference on the level of contribution of NGOs. Nevertheless, the characteristics of NGO managers are more determinative on the level of contribution of NGOs. NGOs in Antakya, define themselves as very important actors in local development and local capacity building, and see themselves responsible for the locality. Social capital and human capital development, sustainability of local resources and values, and strengthening of social-cultural and physical structure can be determined as main fields of contribution of NGOs’ projects. The findings of the research can guide the development of local development strategies.

The terms “public sphere” and “public space” are often used interchangeably in academic and daily language. However, there are important differences in how the term “public” is conceptualized in the social and spatial sciences. Iveson (2007) frames these distinct conceptualizations as the “procedural and topographical” approaches. In the topographical approaches, “public” is considered “a specific kind of place” in a city, and can be coloured on a given map as a “public space”. On the other hand, procedural approaches describe the “public” in reference to “any place” used for “collective action and debate” using the term “public sphere”. Thus, as a further step beyond this confusion, this paper aims to establish common ground and explore the similarities and differences between these two terms, offering a multi-disciplinary interpretation of them. Based on the assumption that the city and the public are socio-spatial phenomenona, as the main contribution of this study we introduce an in-depth theoretical study combining the insights of both approaches to better decode, design and defend the public spaces of our cities.

This article presents findings of an extreme-deviant case study about a single parcel which is known as The Basmane Hole. The parcel is named as “The Land” through the text. The Land which was a public property until 1997 was partially privatized via in-return-for-flats type of a protocol. Following several planning processes, jurisdiction and capital mobilizations, The Land transformed into an unresolved urban question. By the year 2016, The Land stands at the city’s agenda after initiation of a new investment group. Besides the fact that various causal explanations are possible within the complexity of events, a crucial planning phenomenon which is not thoroughly referred in planning literature appeared in The Land case. Research argues that the five dimensions of planning proposed by Raci Bademli (plan, programme, project, policy, pecuniary) requires a sixth one: Protocol. This mode of agreement among shareholders aiming to achieve a concrete project is formed as an in-return-for-flats type, and determines planning codes to a significant extent, yet resulted in conflict between planning law and law of obligations. Findings of the research also provide a ground for necessary debate regarding the limits and potentials of communicative planning approach that is the dominant discourse in planning circles revolving around concepts of negotiation and participation.

In May of 2012, with the approval of law on Transformation of Disaster Risk Areas (no. 6306), a rapid increase in the implementation of urban transformation projects was observed. Therefore as a results of 60% of unplanned urbanization in Izmir, the need of urban transformation for the reinforced concrete structures and the environmental waste produced in conjunction with these applications “sustainable construction waste management” has emerged as an important topic. In addition, it should be sustainable perspective in building demolition in urban regeneration projects in the world and Turkey; without harming the environment makes it important for the emerging construction waste recycling. Today, about building waste is needed the neccessary arrangements because uncontrolled building demolitions, failure to hold the necessary transformation of destruction and waste dump, the inadequacy of the waste disposal site, loss of construction waste illegally in space cause environmental pollution. The demolishing of 6.5 million buildings in overall Turkey and demolishing of 600.000 buildings in Izmir gives rise to the issue of how to eliminate or make productive use of the construction waste from the destruction. An important issue is the sustainability of the construction waste which can be assessed by asking questions of how to organize such construction waste during the urban transformation process. In this study, Bornova-Yucel Aydogan Apartments and Kadifekale Urban Regeneration Projects which were investigated for a better evaluation on sustainable construction waste management.

The term of urban identity includes all physical, cultural, historical, economical, features that distinguish it from the other cities. Symbol buildings or landmarks, which are the ones of reflecting urban identity, play a significant role in remembarance and recognation of the city. Religious buildings in the city structures can be seen and noticed easily thanks to their locations, they differ from other structures through their shapes and sizes. These make religious buildings strong landmarks and easily remembered by both tourists and residents. In this study, significance of religious landmarks for urban identity in Antioch was investigated. The selected nine religious buildings were examined analyzed and evaluated by various techniques. As a result, in determination of Antioch city identity, religious buildings as strong landmarks were found effective. In this process their historical, cultural, symbolic, touristic values and being recognizable as religious buildings have great importance. Another finding is that location, shape and size which are related about phyisical difference are effective, but also inadequate for recognition. The study shows that protecting religious buildings which are identity elements of these settlement was not only sufficient, but it emphasizes that being perceivable is also important for these buildings. For this reason, religious buildings must be protected together with their surrounding structures at the siluette, purified from the additions for perceptions at urban scale and also provided sustainability of Antioch identity.

The concept of sustainability has been an important research topic on built environment related fields as well as other scientific fields in whole world. Urban sustainability which is mentioned in international documents such as Habitat 3 New Urban Agenda and Paris Aggreement, has been investigated in such topics as planning, urban design and policy development. At the same time, the measurement methods of the concept has been researched. As well as being for the whole city, there are many studies for a part of the city or a group of building in terms of measurement area size. The most effective unit emerges as neighbourhood unit for providing sustainability of urban areas. In this field there are many measurement and evaluation systems developed worldwide with having a unit of neighbourhood. However, it is also seen that the subjects that are emphasized by each one are different and the issues specific to the place are overlooked. For this reason, there is a need for a measurement and evaluation model that takes into account both local characteristics and all components of urban sustainability. For this purpose, “Urban Sustainability Evaluation Model” is developed. In this study, the existing approaches developed within the scope of measuring urban sustainability are evaluated within the framework of urban sustainability components. In the original part of the study, the Urban Sustainability Evaluation Model developed within the scope of this study is presented. The proposed model is compared with the existing systems and the evaluation results of the models application made within the scope of a neighborhood unit in the city center of Eskişehir are transmitted.