Designing resilient civic squares: a user-centered multi-criteria framework with evidence from Taksim

This study presents a user-centred framework to evaluate public space resilience, operationalized through the notion of ‘Lost and Dead Spaces’. It also introduces a transferable design framework that links user-perceived resilience criteria to concrete tactics for civic squares. A dual-assessment survey with 140 users in Istanbul’s Taksim Square tests 18 spatial criteria and finds a gap between idealized expectations and lived experience (p < 0.05 for 15 criteria). Notably, findings show a paradox: users prioritize functional attributes, yet overall satisfaction is driven by affective dimensions such as a sense of place (ρ = 0.32), advocating a holistic, perception-based approach.