Academic Thesis-VesileŞ.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUILT ENVIRONMENT CHARACTERISTICS AND MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSES IN URBAN AREAS: THE CASE OF ANKARA

(M. Sc. Thesis)

Vesile ŞİMŞEKOĞLU

GAZİ UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES

June 2022

ABSTRACT

The continuous increase in population and construction in cities complicates living conditions and causes unhealthy living environments. The increasing tendency of the world's population to live in cities creates concerns about the increase in mental illnesses caused by urban living environments. It is necessary to discuss the urban indicators that are related to mental health in order to improve the mental diseases caused by the living environment and, accordingly, the quality of life and urban health. In this thesis it is aimed to evaluate the built environment features that are related to mental health in Ankara's central district neighborhoods. For this purpose, firstly, a database consisting of variables associated with mental health at the neighborhood level was created. The variables to be analyzed with the help of pre-tests were selected. Factor and multiple regression analyses were performed to reveal whether there is a significant relationship between selected variables and mental health. Cluster analysis was conducted to evaluate the similarity structure created by the variables found to affect mental health as a result of these analyses in Ankara central district neighborhoods. In the last stage, a spatial regression model was created that explains the relationship between mental health diagnoses and built environment characteristics. The findings obtained as a result of these analyses indicate that; it has been shown that some characteristics of socioeconomic status, age, built environment characteristics, and road network-accessibility variables are highly related to mental health at the neighborhood level. In addition, the results of univariate (dependent) and multivariate (independent) variable clustering analysis revealed that Ankara's periphery and central neighborhoods generally differ from each other and that the built environment characteristics are also effective in this differentiation. In the conclusion part, the relationship between the built environment and mental health is discussed again in the light of these findings.

Science Code : 80208

Key Words : Urban health, quality of life, mental health, neighborhood unit design

Page Number : 159

Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Burcu Halide ÖZÜDURU

Click here to see the details of the academic thesis.