EVALUATION OF THE VIEWS OF THE LOCAL PEOPLE IN THE RECREATIONAL USE OF PARKS

The people of today who are struggling with intensive environment and difficult living conditions in cities face with psychological, physical and social problems. The negative change in the people's environment increases the need for recreation of today's people. To meet the vital needs of the urban population who face such a negative situation, therefore, recreation environments should be established. As a matter of fact, many needs of people should be taken into consideration when making urban plans. At this point, the parks in the cities are important areas that will have a positive impact on people's physical, social and psychological aspects. It is very important that the parks in the city centers offer better opportunities for people and the views of the local people in using them for recreational purposes. The study was conducted by semi-structured interview method with 10 female and 10 male individuals residing around the Abbasa？a Park in Besiktas district of Istanbul. In the research, the demographic characteristics of the individuals, the ways of evaluating their leisure time, the ways to use the park, the reasons for choosing them and the innovations that can be done in the park were carried out. The majority of the participants is composed by university graduates which spends their free time with their friends. They usually benefit from sports and walking. They stated that they preferred the park because they were close to their homes. The new ones to be brought to this park indicate the development of sporting areas for elderly and disabled individuals. As a result, individuals living in the vicinity of Abbasaga Park spend a certain part of their spare time in the park and they stated that there are shortcomings in the park