TUDEJ- Thinking Of Urban Decoding Journal Latest Issue

Since the 21st century, the negative effects of the climate crisis, accelerated by automobile-dependent mobility, on urban quality of life increased and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban mobility have brought walking to the forefront. Along with these, the concepts of ‘walkability’ and ‘pedestrian-friendly design’ have gained attention both in literature and in practice. Walking is affected by external factors such as social and built environment as well as cultural and individual preferences and characteristics. Walkability is a rather complex phenomenon that needs to be addressed at various scales from the city to the street with different components at each scale. Research on environmental factors influencing walkability reveals that convenience, accessibility, safety, comfort, and attractiveness are commonly identified. Pedestrian comfort is one of the basic requirements among these. In this research, based on the literature, the environmental factors affecting pedestrian comfort are determined as shaded areas, seating areas, physical barriers, and pedestrian connections. Pedestrian comfort was evaluated based on these factors through a test walk on Atatürk Boulevard, one of the main axes of Ankara. Systematic on-site observation was conducted by observer notes, journey mapping, and visual recording tools simultaneously for data collection. The Kızılay-Kuğulu Park section of boulevard was examined within the scope of the research and increasing physical obstacles and lack of seating areas towards Kuğulu Park were determined as the main factors limiting comfort. The research revealed that the automobile-oriented transformation of the boulevard created difficulties in terms of pedestrian comfort and walkability. The research aims to contribute to suggestions for increasing pedestrian comfort on the boulevard and to the discussions on walkability. Besides, interventions to increase the walkability should not only consider the physical infrastructure, but also the land use and transportation patterns, as well as social and cultural factors.

Problems have differentiated in cities due to metropolisation. These problems have different dimensions such as transport, communication, economic, demographic, social and environmental, changes in land use decisions, changes in the supply and demand directions and patterns of real estate. This situation has brought along many problems. Smart city is a modern concept that enables these problems to be addressed with a different approach. Smart city is a concept that aims to create sustainable cities that are more livable, healthier, more peaceful, cleaner, more compatible with nature and more sustainable than the current situation by using technological infrastructure. The ultimate aim of the smart city is to transform the city into a livable city and to maintain livability. The main enforcement authorities of the smart city concept are public institutions and organisations responsible for the execution of public services called administration. As such, it becomes imperative to examine how the basic legal infrastructure of public administrations in carrying out any activity is constructed. Therefore, establishing the legislative infrastructure of the smart city concept is a facilitating factor for the implementation of the term in daily life. In this study, the legislative infrastructure of the smart city concept in the Turkish Legal System has been tried to be analysed. In this context, the legislative dimension of the smart city concept in the context of relevant codes, decrees, regulations and circulars starting from the Constitution has been discussed; the issue of smart cities and legal legislation has been examined. In this framework, firstly, some concepts are explained to be the basis for the concept of smart city. Then, the concept of smart city is analysed in the context of practice and theory. Afterwards, general information on the way of action of the administration in the Turkish Legal System is given.

Housing, shaped by factors such as the economic opportunities, socio-cultural values, and needs of the place it belongs to, is also subject to change and transformation over time as a result of changes in these factors. In Turkey, the increase in the urban population and housing needs after the proclamation of the republic led to the emergence of apartment buildings as a new type of housing. Developments in economic and socio-cultural areas, in particular, have caused many factors in social life to change. In Turkey, especially since the 1950s, with the intense migration from rural areas to cities, apartment buildings have become a widespread solution to meet the housing needs of the rapidly growing population. However, the widespread adoption of this building form was not based solely on economic reasons but was also directly linked to changing lifestyles, family structures, and social relationships. As the multi-generational living style observed in traditional housing gave way to the nuclear family structure, this change also had an impact on apartment planning. Within the scope of this study, eight apartment buildings constructed in Konya between 1937, when the first apartment building was built, and 2015, when apartment buildings were replaced by luxury complexes, were selected and analyzed using the graph method and spatial syntax method based on their plan typologies and spatial configurations. This study systematically analyzes the historical evolution of the apartment housing typology that developed alongside the modernization process in Turkey, using the spatial syntax method, with the city of Konya as an example. While transformations in housing typologies have generally been examined in sociological or historical contexts in the literature, this study fills an important methodological gap by enabling the formal, functional, and syntactic levels of space to be read through numerical data.

The expansion of Istanbul’s rail transit network from 2013 to 2023 has significantly reshaped the city's transportation landscape. This study explores how station characteristics and network growth have influenced changes in rail transit ridership over this period, offering valuable insights for urban planners and policymakers. By examining station location, line type, ridership levels, and opening dates, the research aims to uncover the key factors driving these shifts. The analysis focuses on five phases of network growth, using non-parametric statistical methods to assess the impact of these variables on ridership patterns. In this context, the study aims to define the relationship between station characteristics and ridership trends and highlight the main factors contributing to ridership changes. The findings reveal that station location played a critical role, with European-side stations initially experiencing higher ridership due to their proximity to economic hubs. However, as the network expanded into suburban areas, particularly on the Asian side, ridership growth in these stations accelerated, narrowing the gap. Additionally, the research explores the roles of metro, tram, and commuter rail lines, each contributing to distinct ridership behaviors due to their varying speeds, frequencies, and service areas. Notably, ridership demand levels revealed a widening disparity, with high-demand stations experiencing significant increases while low-demand stations stagnated. This phenomenon can likely be attributed to factors such as network expansion, urban development, and shifting travel patterns favoring heavily used stations. Newly opened stations also exhibited initial fluctuations in ridership, while older stations showed steady, moderate growth. The study concludes that understanding these factors is essential for optimizing future transportation planning in rapidly expanding cities like Istanbul. The insights from this research provide a framework for enhancing rail infrastructure, improving connectivity, and promoting sustainable urban mobility, with direct implications for planners, designers, and city officials.

Urban systems are increasingly recognized as dynamic, multi-scalar networks shaped by nonlinear interactions, feedback loops, and adaptive behaviors. Addressing the “wicked problems” of rapid urbanization—from socio-economic inequality to climate risks—requires theoretical frameworks capable of capturing complexity and informing adaptive governance. This study critically and comparatively examines three major approaches—General Systems Theory (GST), Complexity Theory, and Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)—in the context of urban systems, through a systematic literature review combined with a bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in Web of Science and Scopus between 2000 and 2025. Using bibliometrix and Biblioshiny, the analysis traces conceptual trends, keyword co-occurrence patterns, thematic clusters, author keyword distributions, and thematic evolution. Indicators such as publication growth, thematic mapping, and conceptual development provide insights into the intellectual trajectory of urban complexity research. The findings demonstrate a clear theoretical progression: GST provides a holistic framework emphasizing structural stability but has limited capacity to capture adaptive processes; Complexity Theory advances the field by foregrounding nonlinearity, self-organization, and co-evolutionary dynamics; CAS extends these perspectives by emphasizing decentralized interactions, adaptive learning, and path dependence. The bibliometric mapping shows a sharp increase in CAS-related urban studies after 2015, reflecting its growing recognition as a promising framework. Yet, this surge does not imply CAS has displaced other paradigms; planning theories, socio-spatial perspectives, and governance models remain dominant. Rather, CAS emerges as a complementary approach that enriches existing theories, clarifies theoretical boundaries, identifies research gaps, and enhances the ability to interpret and respond to complex urban transformations. This study underscores that while GST, Complexity Theory, and CAS each provide distinct contributions, CAS holds particular potential as a flexible and complementary lens for advancing both urban theory and practice.