Spatial Planning Principles in Disaster Mitigation Targeting Individuals with Special Needs

This study highlights the need to develop spatial planning principles in order to increase the resilience of vulnerable groups within the social structure. The social groups that show heterogeneity in the urban area due to demographic, economic, cultural and similar reasons also differ in terms of their vulnerability against disasters. In the literature, vulnerable groups show disparities with respect to their location choices in urban areas, physical conditions of individuals and their participation in social life. Although planning discipline has general expressions and approaches for risk reduction of the groups showing vulnerability based on their location choices, the issue of developing concrete solutions in planning principles and spatial decisions remains uncertain for groups that are vulnerable due to their physical conditions and social divergence. Therefore, the aim of the study is to present a holistic planning framework that takes into account the vulnerable groups challenged by physical conditions such as elderly, children, those with special medical needs and of the disabled individuals, and the groups confronting with social distances such as migrants, tourists and homeless people. The focus of the study is on spatial strategies concerning the disaster mitigation of the vulnerable groups showing special needs, rather than dealing with the post-disaster situations of the targeted individuals and groups