Evaluation of coastal areas landscape designs in terms of accessibility with spatial syntax and spatial solution methods: Çanakkale Eski Kordon example

Coastal areas are of great ecological, social and economic importance, and ensuring accessibility is a critical requirement in sustainable urban planning processes. This study aims to analyze the accessibility level of Çanakkale Eski Kordon coastal area. Visibility Graph Analysis (VGA) and Axial Line Analysis were performed within the scope of the Spatial Syntax method, and the physical and structural elements of the area were evaluated with the Spatial Solution method. The analysis revealed that the area has various accessibility deficiencies in terms of visual continuity, surface coverings, boundary elements and seating units. In order to overcome these deficiencies, design criteria were identified and prioritized using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The results show that the comparisons between the criteria are consistent and the proposed design strategies have the potential to improve accessibility. In addition, the use of Spatial Syntax, Spatial Solution and AHP methods together in this study is a first in landscape architecture literature and brings an innovative perspective to the evaluation of coastal areas in terms of accessibility. In this context, the proposed design criteria offer an important step towards the creation of more accessible coastal areas based on universal design principles.