AN EVALUATION OF CAMPUS LANDSCAPE: THE CASE OF TOGU CAMPUS

Abstract

The landscape of university campuses should consist of open and closed spaces that support education and training activities. The open spaces of the campuses must be ecologically, aesthetically, socially and recreationally and economically qualified and comply with the principles of sustainability. Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University (TOGU) Tasliciftlik Campus, which is the subject of this study, was ranked 14th in Turkey and 256th in the world in 2021 in the Green Metric world university rankings, which focuses on sustainability criteria. TOGU campus has achieved this success in the ranking mostly with the features of the campus landscape. The aim of this study is to identify the deficiencies and develop suggestions for eliminating the deficiencies so that the campus landscape has better conditions. In the study, the SWOT analysis method was applied as the main method and the characteristics of the campus landscape were discussed under three main headings: physical and ecological quality, behavioral and functional quality, and aesthetic and visual quality. As a result of the evaluation, it has been determined that the physical and ecological quality of the TOGU campus landscape is rich in terms of ecology and biodiversity but cannot meet the demands of the users in behavioral and functional terms. In line with these determinations, the physical, ecological, functional and aesthetic qualities of the TOGU central campus landscape were evaluated within the scope of sustainability. It has been revealed that the campus has a great potential for the enhancement of the mentioned qualities, and comprehensive and effective landscape planning, design and management suggestions have been given in order to improve and develop the landscape qualities.