Analysis of the interaction between theory and practice in urban planning: Understanding Izmir experience

Abstract

Urban planning, as one of the factors in shaping the urban structure, aims to help to increase the quality of life both through making the necessary spatial arrangements and through development of the urban policies. However the interventions brought through this field of study and action have always been under discussion in terms of the or success of this intervention. Accordingly one of the most ongoing discussions in planning literature covers the issues related to the theory and practice interaction with the aim to see the accordance or disaccordance between planned action and the real world of action and to help to clarify the need or success of this intervention. This thesis study is carried out with the aim to understand the interaction between theory and practice in urban planning. It aims to analyze whether the theory of planning guides to the practice of planning and whether the practice of planning shapes the urban structure. In other words it attempts to clarify the role of theory on practice of planning and the impacts of planning practice on urban structure. This study is formed of two main parts as the theoretical frame and the case study. In the first part the study presented the framework of planning theory and a short review of major theoretical approaches stated in planning literature. In the second part the study presented planning experiences of the city of İzmir through carrying out an analysis of planning practices in terms of theoretical background and implementation of planning decisions. The research method followed for carrying out of the study is mainly based on literature search, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality archives search, Yeni Asır newspaper search and on-site observations. This study found out that planning practices of İzmir had been generally guided by various theoretical approaches and these practices had performed many impacts on urban structure of İzmir. However it can not be claimed that the practice had been successfully guided by the theory or the practice had been successful to shape urban structure. Keywords: Planning Theory, Planning Practice, Theoretical Approaches, Planning in Turkey, Planning in İzmir, Urban Structure of İzmir, Prost, Danger, Le Corbusier, Aru, Bodmer.