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The popularity of living in gated communities has been rising last decades. The rise of GCs has gained significance peripheral districts of the city since the 1999 earthquake in the Marmara Region. This book analyzes the recent appearance in Istanbul of an urban phenomenon known as gated communities in urban areas. The book s main aim is to analyze housing preferences and environmental quality from the user´s point of view. In order to do so. a survey was conducted on 401 heads of household living in single-family gated housing distributed in 11 districts around the outskirts of Istanbul. The main dimensions of perceived environmental quality were established through a factor analysis. Subsequently, a logistic regression analysis was carried out in order to compare housing preferences in the European side of Istanbul to the ones located on the Asian side. This book gathers and systemizes a wide-ranging bibliography on the study of residential satisfaction and specifically applies it to the city of Istanbul. The results could therefore be of interest to urban planners and designers.

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Lale BERKOZ is a full professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Architectural Faculty of ITU. She received her master s and doctorate degrees in urban planning at the same University. Dr. Berkoz author or co-authors more than 120 books, articles, national and international research papers and technical reports.

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