BÜYÜKŞEHİRDE YAŞAYAN ENGELLİ YAYALAR İÇİN KALDIRIMLARIN ANALİZ EDİLMESİ: ŞİŞLİ ÖRNEĞİ Analysis of Sidewalks for Disabled Pedestrians in Metropolitan Cities: A Case Study from Sişli District in Istanbul

This study aimed at determining to what extent the sidewalks in the twenty neighborhoods of the Sisli district in Istanbul were suitable for the use of disabled people using wheelchairs. All the sidewalks in the study area were examined in detail in the study area covering approximately 7.8km². Among the characteristics of the sidewalks examined in the study are the width and height of the sidewalks, the number, location, and types of the objects occupy the sidewalks, whether or not the objects obstruct the walking of people using wheelchairs, the location of the broken surfaces and ramps on the sidewalks. All the data collected in the field were first recorded on paper maps and then transferred into a GIS environment for analysis. Three thousand and eighteen pavement segments were recorded in the study with the total length of 251 km. The study revealed that the majority of the sidewalks in the study area is mostly narrow, irregular, and often occupied by different objects such as tree, motor vehicle, electricity pole, and stands; therefore, is not appropriate for the use of disabled pedestrians with wheelchairs. In order to be able to overcome this negative situation caused by rapid population growth and unplanned urbanization, there is a need for some adjustments on the pavements in the short and medium terms, and radical urban transformation projects to be realized in the long run.