THE PERSPECTIVES OF RESEARCHERS WHO PURSUE A BOTTOM-UP APPROACH IN THE FIELD OF URBAN DESIGN REGARDING THE CONCEPT OF CHANGE AGENT

Date

2023-9-06

Author

Bingöl, Heval

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The concept of change agent is one of the most vital notions of bottom-up (participatory) urban planning strategies. Nevertheless, the conceptualization of this concept by the bottom-up researchers in the field of urban design is still uncertain. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the concept of change agent. It defines this term as the actors who are empowered and capable enough to take initiatives and are able to decide on the destiny of their futures and surroundings. Arguably, a considerable number of bottom-up projects in the field of urban design strive to achieve this concept, or at least mention it as a desired (direct or indirect) project outcome. However, less is known about (1) how this term is conceptualised by the researchers, (2) which methods and techniques do the researchers use in creating change agents if they strive to achieve such a goal, (3) whether the way that the researchers approached this concept changed positively or negatively over time as they experienced its social outcomes, and if yes, how and why. Therefore, this thesis aims to address these gaps in the literature to reveal the possible negative (or undesired) effects of increased agency in the field of urban design (an objective, which has rarely been examined). To achieve these objectives, in-depth interviews were conducted with 6 researchers in Turkey in the field urban design. The results of the study show that there has been negative change in the perspectives of some of the researchers regarding the concept of change agent for a number of reasons. They also emphasize the role of the context of study in the ideas of the researchers about the importance of creating change agents.

Subject Keywords

Change Agent, Participatory Urban Planning, Empowerment, Positive and Negative Outcomes of Agency From the Perspectives of Researchers Who Pursue a Bottom-up Approach, Conceptualization of Change Agents

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/105577

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis