COVID-19, neighborhood, commons, urban life and public health

Year 2020, Issue: 76, 115 - 128, 31.12.2020

Fatma Erdoğanaras , Kübra Cihangir Camur , Nilgün Görer Tamer , Kübra Mercan

https://doi.org/10.17211/tcd.816835

Cited By: 7

Abstract

Public health has been the main agenda once again in the changing spatial paradigm during the Covid-19 pandemic period, and the ‘importance of establishing a healthy life-space relationship’ has once again emerged. The pandemic processes have changed people’s living patterns and habits all over the world. In many countries, quarantines with different contents, which we can define as ‘spatial limitation-closure’, have been implemented especially for cities and urban functions. Private and public institutions, companies and government offices have switched to flexible or remote (online) or rotational work practices. Education processes were suspended first, and with the continuity of the pandemic, online education models have been adopted in many countries. During the pandemic process, the lifestyle that changed suddenly and unexpectedly forced the spatial closure by gaining permanence, the time spent in the home-work-school and public common areas changed the context of urban activities. With the increase of time spent in closed / private spaces, people’s physical and social activities have decreased, and the importance of open / common areas has started to point out the significant debates in urban studies. In this context, the focus has been on the ‘commons’,neighborhoodefined as shared resources owned by the community, and questions of what new approaches will be in the planning and design of the space have been raised. During the pandemic period, meeting places, public transportation use, etc. travels, especially urban public spaces and services, have become health-risky. These limitations and the risk of contamination have made people more concerned than before the pandemic with their dwellings and commons such as streets, neighborhoods, parks, etc. Residents who cannot get away from where they live and seek space for themselves have entered the process of rediscovering their neighborhoods and streets. The common areas located at the border of the private living area, especially within walking distance / in the neighborhood, have gained importance, and the functions of these areas in terms of sustaining life have become more visible. In this study, the contribution of neighborhood commons to public health, and their increasing importance and functions are discussed in this context. This article is mainly based on a literature review and a related assembling study on neighborhood commons and healthy living environment within the urban planning discipline. The concept of ‘public health’, which has been referred to a lot, is determined as the main axis of this study. Neighborhood commons (open and green areas, amenities and service areas, etc.) and their functions, concerning public health at the neighborhood level, are questioned relating to socio-economic factors. While the importance of common areas, parks and streets that support physical activity and mobility in the neighborhood increased during the pandemic process; it has been revealed that socio-economic and spatial inequalities negatively affect the physical and mental health of individuals, and the spatial content of public health creates a problem area that needs to be studied interdisciplinary.

Keywords

urban life, COVID-19, neighborhood, commons, urban planning, public health

COVID-19, mahalle, müşterekler, kentsel yaşam ve halk sağlığı

Abstract

Halk sağlığı, yaşanılan Covid-19 pandemi döneminde mekansal paradigmanın değişimi tartışmalarında ana gündemi oluşturmuş ve ‘sağlıklı yaşam-mekan ilişkisinin doğru kurulmasının önemi’ bir kez daha ortaya çıkmıştır. Pandemi sürecinin farklı bileşenleri insanların yaşam düzenlerini ve alışkanlıklarını tüm dünyada değiştirmiştir. Birçok ülkede özellikle kentler ve kentsel fonksiyonlar için ‘mekansal içe kapanma’ olarak tanımlayabileceğimiz farklı içeriklerde karantinalar uygulanmıştır. Özel ve resmi kurum/kuruluşlar uzaktan (online) veya dönüşümlü mesai uygulamalarına geçmek zorunda kalmış, eğitim süreçlerine önce ara verilmiş, pandeminin süreklilik kazanmasıyla çok sayıda ülkede çevrimiçi eğitim modeline geçilmiştir. Pandemi sürecinde ani olarak değişen ve beklenmedik biçimde kalıcılık kazanarak mekansal kapanmaya zorlayan yaşam şekli, ev-iş-okul ve kamusal müşterek alanlarda geçirilen süreleri, kentsel faaliyetlerin içeriğini değiştirmiştir. Kapalı/özel alanlarda geçirilen sürenin artmasıyla insanların fiziksel ve sosyal aktiviteleri azalmış, açık/müşterek alanların önemi, üzerinde çok tartışılan kentsel çalışmaları işaret etmeye başlamıştır. Bu kapsamda topluluğun sahip olduğu, paylaşılan kaynaklar olarak tanımlanan ‘müştereklere’ odaklanılmış ve mekanın planlanmasında, tasarımında yeni yaklaşımların ne olacağı soruları gündeme gelmiştir. Pandemi döneminde bulaş riski barındıran toplanma mekanları, toplu taşıma kullanımı vd. yolculuklar, özellikle kentsel kamusal mekanlar ve hizmetler sağlık açısından riskli hale gelmiştir. Bu sınırlamalar ve bulaş riski insanları yaşadıkları konut, ortak yaşam alanları olan sokak, mahalle, parklar, vb. yerler ile pandemi öncesine göre daha ilgili hale getirmiştir. Yaşadıkları yerden uzaklaşamayan ve kendilerine alan arayan kentliler mahallelerini ve sokaklarını yeniden keşfetme sürecine girmiştir. Özel yaşam alanının hemen sınırında yer alan, özellikle yürüme mesafesindeki/mahalledeki müşterek alanlar önem kazanmış, bu alanların yaşamın sürdürülmesi boyutundaki işlevleri öne çıkmıştır. Çalışmada, mahalledeki müşterek alanların halk sağlığına katkısı ve artan önemi ile işlevi, bu kapsamda tartışılmıştır. Araştırmada şehir planlama disiplini içerisinde mahalle müşterekleri ve sağlıklı yaşam çevresi temel alınarak literatür taraması ve buna bağlı bir derleme çalışması yapılmıştır. Yapılan taramanın sonucunda üzerinde çok tartışılan ‘halk sağlığı’ kavramı bu çalışmanın ana ekseni olarak belirlenmiştir. Halk sağlığını mahalle ölçeğinde ilgilendiren mahalle müşterekleri (açık ve yeşil alanlar, ortak donatı alanları vb.) ve işlevleri, sosyo-ekonomik faktörlerle etkileşimli olarak ele alınmıştır. Pandemi sürecinde mahallede fiziksel aktivite ve hareketliliği destekleyen ortak alanların, parkların ve sokakların önemi artarken; sosyo-ekonomik ve mekansal eşitsizliklerin bireylerin fiziksel ve ruhsal sağlığını olumsuz etkilediği, halk sağlığının mekansal içeriğinin, üzerinde çalışılması gereken disiplinlerarası bir sorun alanı oluşturduğu ortaya çıkarılmıştır.

Keywords

COVID-19, mahalle, müşterekler, kentsel yaşam, kent planlama, halk sağlığı

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