TITLE:
The Socio-Economic Impact of the Commercial Street in Achieving Sustainability for Refugees in the Host Community
AUTHORS:
Mariam Altaema, Hatice Kalfaoğlu Hatipoğlu
KEYWORDS:
Socio-Economic Impact, Commercial Street, Refugees, Urban Planning, Commercial Street
JOURNAL NAME:
Current Urban Studies,
Vol.11 No.2,
June
12,
2023
ABSTRACT: Türkiye has always been a major destination for the displaced around the
world. Recently, Türkiye has hosted a large number of Syrian refugees who have
settled in camps and many Turkish cities. It is believed that for the refugee
groups to develop themselves and create and augment links with the host
community, it is vital to use their culture and previous professional and
economic experience to adapt their spatial position and enhance their social
life. Hence the significance of the central commercial street in the refugee
area is a key point for urban transformation, socio-economic participation, and
the ability to integrate later. The study has used a qualitative observational
approach to explore the social and economic impact of refugees on the Önder
region (Selçuk Street), where the activities of refugees were recorded,
documented, and mapped through behavioral observation. Observations were done
in three days (two days a week and one day off). The street is divided into
three sections of similar length. One-minute short films were recorded from
each section every three hours from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. Then, the films were
transferred to street maps, documenting activities, gender, and age through the
use of appropriate images. Lastly, the study offers an insight into the details
of the daily social life of street users as the socio-economic life of the
street can provide academics and designers with clear evidence on which to base
future research and design.