Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on spatial preferences and usage habits of users in shopping malls and its relation with circulation layout

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, with its global impact on every scale of life, has caused a change in all the habits of people regarding daily life, and this change has also been directly reflected in the human-space interaction. The bidirectional relationship between human and space has evolved by being influenced by each other during the pandemic process. Within the scope of this study, which aims to determine the predicted change in the spatial preferences and usage habits of the users in the shopping malls due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which causes changes in the space and the usage habits of the users from micro scale to macro scale, analyzes were made with the research methodology consisting of three stages (i. space syntax, ii. survey, iii. comparison) and the results were evaluated. According to the results obtained from the case study, it was determined that the COVID-19 pandemic deeply changed people's spatial perception, preferences and usage habits in shopping malls and circulation layout also plays a role on it. To summarize, while personal preferences were at the forefront in places to be preferred for shopping before the pandemic, the characteristics of the place gained importance after the pandemic.