Özet:

Rapid urbanization led to unplanned, unhealthy and problematic urban environments. This phenomenon affected the play and recreation areas spared for children in the city and thus limited their social and cultural activities. The traditional street concept has been lost, the time spent by children in urban areas has been decreased, the traces of children in urban environment have been disappeared and children have been imprisoned indoors. These negative conditions in the city and the effects of the consumption culture made shopping malls an alternative to urban space. Leisure time opportunities fictionalized for children in shopping malls came out to be a preferable consumption object for children and parents. Children equate leisure time with the action of ‘consuming’; and they consume what they are offered by lacking activities including learning, creativity and discovery, which are important for their development. In this context, this study aims to identify the leisure time preferences and space uses of children in urban life and the role of shopping malls among these spaces. In the study, firstly the changing meaning of the concept of leisure time and then the level of shopping malls in leisure time preferences of children are put forth. In this framework, leisure time facilities provided by shopping malls are revealed and leisure time preferences and space usages of children are determined by survey study. 

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