Page 107 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 4

Aslı Ulubaş Hamurcu

that smart urban regeneration practices should not only be limited to the
prioritization of ICT-based technical superstructure and infrastructure, but also
that the social dimension of the process should be emphasized. Therefore,
ICT applications should be designed and implemented in a such way to
maximize their acceptance and usability by society. It is also required to create
performance indicators for measuring, monitoring and evaluating the extent
to which such practices are accepted and used by society.

Place Attachment– Place Dependence
With the widespread use of ICT, the discussions on the concepts of
place attachment and place dependence have started again (see Ulubaş
Hamurcu, 2021). Access to ICTs and infrastructure have decreased the place
dependence and triggered an increase in both urban and intercity mobility.
In this context, it should be considered that smart cities established on the
basis of ICT-based urbanization may also produce critical and intervention-
requiring results for reducing the place dependency, and the production of
solutions for the consequences of such mobility should be included in the
smart city strategies. Especially, the production of solutions that increase and
encourage place attachment will also contribute to the sustainability of smart
cities. In this context, it may be possible to establish the centers of attraction
for smart cities through urban regeneration by the public means. It is obvious
that current applications offer the user the necessary ICT-based infrastructure
and superstructure to reduce place dependence. However, there are no
performance indicators for measuring and evaluating the contribution to urban
space in terms of place attachment. The measures to ensure and improve the
continuity and sustainability of the place attachment and, accordingly, spatial
belonging should be taken.

Socio-technological Factors and Urban Space
Important steps can be taken with respect to the place dependence by
adopting an approach that combines partnerships as well as inclusiveness
which is based on the single representation of individuals. In this context, it
may be possible to investigate socio-technological factors and to produce
citizen-oriented, socio-cultural, spatial (physical and natural environment)
and economic solutions that respond to local needs by taking these factors
into consideration. These solutions are an inevitable and indispensable
part of sustainable urbanization, and they also provide critical input in the
implementation of sustainable urban regeneration practices. In this context,
it is important to give priority to ensure that the performance indicators
to be developed for smart and sustainable urban regeneration enable the
measurement and monitoring of socio-technological factors.

96 The Journal of Environment, Urban and Climate