Abstract
Quality of Place (QoP) is a new concept, the measurability of which is discussed in the literature. It is assessed within the same context as similar concepts which include the word “place”, such as sense of place, place identity, place attachment, and on place-based concepts such as life satisfaction, human well-being. It is compared with quality of life (QoL) that aims to identify the best places to live and discuss the differences between places. Although these concepts overlap, they are assessed in different terms in interdisciplinary studies. When the research, printed documents and implementations of the researchers are assessed, there are several determinants - the scale of place, the current time period, the type of place and its manner of usage, users - which influence the measurability of QoP. They are used to question the success of urban place in developed countries. At this point, this study aims to question QoP on the socio-economic development level. The problem is defined as to whether the development level will be the criteria in QoP at different scales. The research is developed in two stages. In the first stage, the position and role of QoP in the existing literature is assessed, and the determinants affecting its measurability are summarized. In the second stage, the place-based research in Turkey, a developing country, and its largest metropolitan city, Istanbul, are examined in chronological order. This research, participated in to a considerable extent by the writers, has been developed from the perspective of a planning discipline. A literature survey is used in the research. In the research, a common synthesis of the indicators, limitations used and references made to QoP is devised. As a conclusion, the meaning of QoP for Istanbul is limited to the house and its environment. Therefore, consideration has been given to QoP in terms of its development level, bringing gains to both the city and its citizens. Moreover, it will effectively improve the usage of the resources in the planning process and will be a leading source for public policies.
