Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
MOBILITIES, sa.November, ss.1-25, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus)
The purpose of this study is to investigate how international students in Istanbul perceive and practice the city and what role technology plays as a mediator in their mobility culture. Employing a multi-method approach, researchers quantitatively derived a ‘funda-mental map’ from a mass transit dataset, surveyed 208 international students for persona analysis, and conducted qualitative inquiries including mental maps, in-depth interviews, a diary study, and walk & talk sessions to reveal mobility patterns and challenges. This comprehensive data was comparatively analyzed within the theoretical frameworks of mobility culture, network sociality (drawing on Castells, Simmel, and Wittel), and Lefebvre’s theory of the social production of space, alongside Kevin Lynch’s legibility analysis of five urban elements. Key findings reveal that students often experience the city within a ‘mobility bubble’, shaped by their transient social connections and technologically mediated interactions. Furthermore, this two-year study proposes the Bosphorus Strait, a dominant feature in students’ urban experience, as a ‘super-element’ that extends Lynchian typology, critically shaping their perception and navigation of Istanbul.