In this study, Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Human Needs” theory was adapted to the urban scale and a six-layered unique model was developed that explains urban needs analytically using the “Conceptual Framework Development” method and a deductive approach. The model is called the “KI (Kurtbaş İhsan) Urban-Humanist and Socio-Spatial Hexa-Hierarchy Model of Urban Needs”. The current urban literature is largely dominated by planning approaches that prioritize industrialization, competitiveness, and economic productivity. On the other hand, in this article, the following six-layered taxonomy has been developed, which explains the relationship between the layers as a hierarchical; but permeable structure, by considering the urban from an “urban-humanist and socio-spatial” perspective: Physiological–Structural Requirements, Urban Safety and Security, Urban Belonging and Urban Consciousness, Urban Identity and Branding, Urban Sustainability, and The Transcendent Urban (Genius Loci–Spirit of Place). This taxonomy is based on which level of need each urban layer corresponds to Maslow’s; with which spatial scale it can be explained, with which indicators it can be evaluated; which administrative units, institutional actors and legislative areas can be associated with; It is presented in a single analytical matrix showing which positive and negative city examples can be embodied. In addition, in this specific analytical and typological framework, this study defines the Spirit of Place (Genius Loci) as an ontological urban need through “The Transcendent Urban Layer (TUL)”. It formulates “the Transcendent Urban Typology (TUT)” as a new urban typology. The article and the model developed provide urban design researchers with a theoretical basis on which they can analyze urban needs in a layered manner; and provide public policy makers, local administrators, urban planners/designers with a concrete and applicable framework to systematically diagnose urban deficiencies, create intervention priorities, and produce spatial decisions without weakening physical, social, historical, natural, and spiritual continuity.
Rapid urbanization and increasing development pressures have transformed urban planning education into a global practice, requiring emergent professionals capable of addressing complex socio-spatial challenges. This article emphasizes the pedagogical role of design processes and transdisciplinary approaches in preparing planners for sustainability, social transformation, and environmental uncertainty. It argues that relevant planning education depends on continuous curricular innovation and the development of key sustainability competences. Focusing on transdisciplinary planning education, the study highlights how the integration of diverse academic, professional, and local knowledge supports reflexive, collaborative, and context-sensitive learning. Design methodology is positioned as a critical arena for translating knowledge into practice through iterative, inclusive processes that bridge theory and real-world application. A comparative analysis of three Scandinavian master’s programs—at NTNU (Norway), Aalborg University (Denmark), and Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden)—examines how different design approaches contribute to competence development in planning for sustainability. The findings reveal that, despite shared sustainability goals, programs vary in how systematically design approaches are embedded within curricula. In the Scandinavian context, despite strong collaborative and design-led traditions, a gap persists between the iterative logic of design-based learning and the comprehensiveness of the planning process in practice. The article concludes by emphasizing the need to strengthen reflexive design competences in urban planning education for sustainability through transdisciplinary learning alongside topical expertise, and to address emerging challenges and prepare planners for complex urban transformations.
Seoul’s urban morphology reflects successive phases, from colonial rule through rapid urbanization to regeneration, yet most analyses reduce this complexity to static clusters. This study models urban form as mixtures of latent archetypes, casting the task as blind source separation. SimplexNMF, a simplex-constrained non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm, is applied to 2019 GIS indicators for 1418 500 × 500-m grid cells (buildings, streets, green/water, topography). This study recovers nine interpretable archetypes: organic low-rise residential, low-rise mixed-use, low-density foothill or interchange-edge, linear mid-rise, riverside, high-rise apartment, institutional/public-facility, hilly-terrain, and park-edge patterns. Hybrid clustering of their compositional weights further identifies nine archetype-dominant and six mixed clusters. Comparison with knowledge-based typologies and analysis of two cases (Yeongdong 2 District-a, Jamsil) help interpret these mixtures and demonstrate the complementary roles of data-driven and expert-based approaches, highlighting how plan ideals, local adaptations, and path dependence shaped the evolution of their urban forms. By translating overlapping forms into compositional signals, the framework offers a scalable, theory-informed basis for diagnosing neighborhood character and guiding context-sensitive regeneration in Seoul and similarly layered cities.
This study explores potential spatial inequality by examining the relationship between spatial configuration and observed pedestrian movement through the combined use of Space Syntax analysis and long-term pedestrian observations. The research focuses on the area surrounding MarkAntalya Shopping Mall in Antalya, Türkiye, within a 1000-m pedestrian access area. Pedestrian movement data were collected at 142 observation points over a 90-day period using video-based observations, with recordings conducted between 10:00 and 18:00 on both weekdays and weekends. Spatial configuration was evaluated using space syntax measures, including connectivity, global and local integration, depth, and visibility graph analysis (VGA). The findings reveal persistent mismatches between configurational accessibility and observed pedestrian activity. While some highly integrated streets attracted relatively limited pedestrian movement, other streets with only moderate syntactic accessibility exhibited high pedestrian intensity owing to their functional characteristics and street-level activity. Rather than directly measuring spatial inequality, the study interprets these mismatches as indicators of inequality for public-space use. The findings demonstrate that combining space syntax analysis with long-term pedestrian observations provides a useful framework for examining the relationship between spatial accessibility, functional context, and everyday pedestrian movement in commercial urban environments.
