Social Impact Assessment in Urban Regeneration: Sümer Neighbourhood Urban Regeneration Project

An urban regeneration project can only be succesful after fullfilling the following preconditions. First of all there is a need for research on the effects of the project in the cities and also the consequences for the society living there. Therefore the necessary strategies must be determined and examined. One of the most important problems that leads to failure of a urban regeneration project is the fact that there is insufficient research considering the social effects assessment in general situations but in most of the cases the expectations of the citizens living in the regeneration area are not rapported to obtain a comform working strategy. Therefore in this articele there is aimed to perform an experimental study on the social effect assessment in cases of urban regeneration projects. This article is a result of at one side literature study and at the other hand field research that is based on a mixed methodoloy that has taken quantitave and also qualitative research in consideration. After realizing the literature study concerning urban regeneration and social effect assessment the research is tested with a field study in Istanbul City. A few samples of the urban regeneration project in the District Zeytinburnu and more specific in the Neighboorhoud Sümer formed were taken in consideration during the resaerch. The social effects assessment is based on cards created with the building, street and neighbourhood strategy. The regeneration project is realized without in-depth interviews with the citizens of the regeneration area. The final conclusion after field research in the neighboorhood shows that interviewees emphasazed on the following issues: they want that the existing street culture, the existing arcade and local small shops must be maintained and also after the regeneration they want that there will be more attention for social and common use areas and the increasing of local employment opportunities. Related to their evaluations concerning the street they draw attention to the following topics: they want that the existing street culcure, relationships between neighboors and the feeling of trust must be maintained, the new residences must be created in accordance to the differences in the levels of income and comform the different lifestyles, the improuvement of playgrounds and more opportunities for disabled people and a street with a feeling of real life are very important. According to the results of the in-depth interviews can be concluded that during the process of regeneration there priorities and suggestions were not taken in the