The examination of Giresun city parks in terms of landscape design criteria

Abstract

Objective: The main objective of this study was to evaluate Giresun city parks from various aspect such as environmental relations, transportation possibilities, utilization of functional area, equipments, planting, utilization of functional plants and utilization of the park, determine the qualitative and quantitative characteristics thereof and demonstrate their competence in requirements of the people. Material and Methods: The parks were ranked out of 540 points that could be given to the design criteria and compared with each other so that many parks could be evaluated objectively. Furthermore, the parks were classified in the light of literature information (24 playgrounds, 14 neighborhood parks, 4 city parks and 1 sports field), and their competence were provided in terms of recommended standard values in tabular data. Results: It was determined that in 33 of the parks, there was no variety in terms of age groups in children's playground equipment while there were no units such as indoor seating, lighting elements and ramps at the entrance points in 22, 13 and 9 of the city's parks, respectively. Furthermore, it was detected that the number of parking space requirement was not enough to meet the requirements and squalidity as well as the lack of shade in some parks lead to discomfort, and the total score average for all parks was calculated to be 191.1 (35.3%). Conclusion: Consequently, the requirement for a new city-specific design guide was revealed by virtue of the deficiencies found in the current situation and recommendations that can help local governments or designers for the future were developed.