Problems of rural areas in Turkey manifest themselves in planning field as well however means of intervention is limited. As a result of process growing organically, the first village design guide in Turkey was produced for the village of Ersizlerdere. The preparation process of the guide started when actors such as Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, North Anatolian Development Agency (NADA) and Governorship of Küre looking for new methods in rural development encountered. With the will of the actors, village design guide became one of the key projects that were proposed in the local development workshop held in Küre. Depending upon this proposal and the agreement of cooperation between Governorship of Kastamonu, NADA and MSGSU, Ersizlerdere Village Design Guide was prepared. It was aimed to raise the low level of participation in the planning efforts in rural areas and the level of participation was raised thanks to extensive field work. Village people were included in the process through questionnaires conducted and focus group meetings held and thus primary data were collected. With the settlement analyses it was aimed to determine the elements of rural identity. In this context, spatial analyses examining topography, landscape, silhouette and settlement fabric; analyses about parcel structure and usage and architectural survey were made. In the light of findings obtained through the work and basic information about village, the content and construct of the guide were determined. The guide consists of three main chapters: Settlement Fabric, Parcel Formation and Rural Architectural Character. In the chapter of Settlement Fabric, there are proposals about silhouette, aspect, altitude, vegetation and land cover, common public spaces, roads/paths. In the chapter of Parcel Formation some proposals about parcel size and lot coverage are developed. Rural Architectural Character, there are proposals about building/parcel layout, spatial organization, materials and new buildings. Consequently, it was remarked that in Turkey village design guide studies must be interrelated with rural development initiatives and that sense of ownership of the institutions, academic contribution and local participation are important. It was emphasized that the content of the guide might differentiate according to the locality and that is why more studies and implementation are required in Turkey.

The importance of rural planning in Turkey for the politicians and planners has increased considerably since the announcement of the Metropolitan Law in 2012. According to this law, the borders and authorities of local governments have been enlarged including districts and villages. Local governments have become responsible to bring all urban services and conduct planning activites in all the places within its borders. Local governments in Turkey whose lack of experience on rural planning are unquestinable have embraced Village Design Guides as a sole planning tool to manage the planning issues in rural areas. However Village Design Guides can not be enough to manage the development of the rural areas unless it is relationally developed with the other planning tools. This article aims to contribute to rural plannning literature and practice in Turkey as it introduces new planning tools in rural planning by focusing on the Erdek Yukarıyapıcı Village Design Guide Project. The first part of the article introduces new discussions within rural planning literature, different rural planning tools and experiences in other countries In the light of the discussions in the first part, the design principles, approach, methodology and the content of the project, have been defined for the Erdek Yukarıyapıcı village in the second part. Socio-spatial analysis of the village takes place in the second part too. Following part is about proposed planning tools which are called Village Design Framework, Village Design Guide and Action Projects respectively In this part the content of these tools are explained in detail. The last part a discussion takes place on the potentials of the proposed planning tools for further rural planning practices in Turkey. ÖZTürkiyede 2012 yılında kabul edilen Büyükşehir yasası ile kırsal alan planlaması, politikacılar ve plancılar açısından giderek daha fazla önem kazanmıştır. Yasa ile birçok yerel yönetimin, yetki ve sorumluluk alanları genişlemiş, sınırları içindeki tüm alanlara kentsel hizmetler götürmekle ve plan yapmakla yükümlü olmuşlardır. Kırsal alanlara ilişkin planlama deneyimi olmayan yerel yönetimler için kırsal alandaki gelişmeleri yönlendirme konusunda imar planları dışında Köy Tasarım Rehberleri ise neredeyse tek araçtır. Ancak mekânsal düzenleme araçlarından sadece biri olan Köy Tasarım rehberlerinin farklı tür araçlarla birlikte düşünülmedikçe başarılı olması zordur. Bu makalenin amacı; kırsal alan planlamasında köy tasarım rehberlerinin yerini tartışmak, Erdek Yukarıyapıcı Köyü özelinde geliştirilen farklı mekânsal düzenleme araçları üzerinden, kırsal alanda planlama süreçlerini tartışmaya açmak, böylece de Türkiye'de kırsal alan planlaması literatür ve pratiğine katkıda bulunmaktır. Makalede ilk olarak kırsal planlamadaki eğilimler ele alınmış köy tasarım rehberleri ve kırsal mekana müdahale araçları farklı ülke deneyimleri üzerinden aktarılmıştır. Daha sonra, Türkiye'de kırsal yerleşme planlamasına ilişkin mevzuat ve yaklaşımlar aktarılarak Yukarıyapıcı Köyü için kırsal mekanı düzen...