Papers by Ozgun Ozcakir
The contents of this system and all articles published in Journal of TÜBA-KED are licenced under ... more The contents of this system and all articles published in Journal of TÜBA-KED are licenced under the "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0".
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including phot... more No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, even for internal or educational use. Italian legislation only allows reproduction for personal use and provided it does not damage the author. Therefore, reproduction is illegal when it replaces the actual purchase of a book as it threatens the survival of a way of transmitting knowledge. Photocopying a book, providing the means to photocopy, or facilitating this practice by any means is like committing theft and damaging culture. If any mistakes or omissions have been made concerning the copyrights of the illustrations, they will be corrected in the next reprint.
Living heritage cities are subjected to interventions related to the values they present. While t... more Living heritage cities are subjected to interventions related to the values they present. While the interventions of public decision-makers may be for public benefit, they may also follow their political and ideological priorities. Such interventions may impact the values of heritage cities, and may even lead to their demolition. In multi-layered cities, the physical traces of different periods, which may have conflicting values, co-exist. The interventions of public decision makers on the remnants of different periods can lead to the destruction of the values that co-exist in multi-layered living cities. Hacı Bayram district in Ankara is an example of a living multi-layered city with contesting values due to the coexistence of the remnants of different periods. This paper analyzes the transformation of the Hacı Bayram district since the foundation of the Turkish Republic, and investigates the relationship between these transformations and the political and ideological motivations of those in power.
Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development
PurposeThis paper aims to address the issue of the conservation and management of rural cultural ... more PurposeThis paper aims to address the issue of the conservation and management of rural cultural heritage, with the aim being to gain an understanding of current problems and needs through a participatory approach, in recognition of the uniqueness of the relationship between nature, humankind and the built environment as an area of study. To this end, a comprehensive case study – Kemer Village in Turkey – focusing on the social sustainability and participatory approaches for the sustainable development of rural settlements is given. Accordingly, possible conservation, management and sustainability strategies are put forward considering the priorities and perspectives of different stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachThis paper approaches the subject of rural heritage conservation and management from a social sustainability standpoint, involving an on-site investigation to understand the physical and social context of Kemer Village in Turkey, which has links to different periods i...
A multidisciplinary approach to address climate-resilience, conservation and comfort in traditional architecture: The PROT3CT example, 2021
Traditional dwellings despite their environmental credentials, due to age, previous damage, and r... more Traditional dwellings despite their environmental credentials, due to age, previous damage, and residents unable to afford even the limited maintenance allowed by restrictive legal framework, may offer poor thermal performance, which is expected to be further exacerbated by changing climate. More than 70% of Turkey's built heritage stock is composed of traditional dwellings, which makes this stock able to create a major impact nationally on the building-related energy use, carbon emissions and population wellbeing. This research aims to develop an evidence-based multidisciplinary methodology for cost-effective retrofit of the traditional dwellings in Turkey, to improve energy performance, satisfy user expectations of comfort, and protect heritage value. Peer-review under the responsibility of the organizing committee of the ICMB21.
Journal of Architectural Conservation, 2021
26TH – 28TH NOVEMBER 2019 – DELFT LDE HERITAGE CONFERENCE on Heritage and the Sustainable Development Goals PROCEEDINGS, 2020
Heritage places have become the arena of various interventions due to their socio-cultural and ec... more Heritage places have become the arena of various interventions due to their socio-cultural and economic values. However, new interventions for urban regeneration may have a destructive impact on the physical, social and economic aspects of urban heritage places. As a result, the sustainability of heritage places becomes questionable. The study aims to examine interventions and their impact on sustainability in two urban heritage places in Turkey: Tarlabaşı, İstanbul and Kemeraltı, İzmir. In Tarlabaşı, historic buildings were expropriated and destroyed while people living in the area were displaced. A completely different approach was used in Kemeraltı, where a bottom-up approach has been adopted and holistic strategies have been developed considering both residents’ needs and the values of heritage place. While interventions in Tarlabaşı represent unsustainable modes of implementation; interventions in Kemeraltı suggest that there is scope for sustainability where the physical setting is preserved, the social environment is not changed but empowered, and economic activities continue together with control in rent increase. Looking at interventions in Tarlabaşı and Kemeraltı, and bearing in mind the international documents published by ICOMOS and UNESCO, the study aims to assess the post-intervention sustainability of urban heritage places. To do this, it focuses on intervention approaches, assess their impact on physical setting, social environment, and economic context and categorizes each of them from the most destructive to the most sustainable.
Keywords: Heritage impact assessment (HIA), urban heritage places, sustainability, İstanbul, İzmir
Rural Heritage - Landscapes and Beyond / PATRIMOINE RURAL: Paysages et au-delà, 2019
2019 ICOMOS Advisory Committee Scientific Symposium, Marrakesh, Morocco
Rural Heritage: Landscape... more 2019 ICOMOS Advisory Committee Scientific Symposium, Marrakesh, Morocco
Rural Heritage: Landscapes and Beyond
Panel 10: Rural Heritage Places in Turkey: Different Contexts | Diverse Issues | Distinct Responses
Panel 10. Paper 10.1: From Understanding to Action for Conservation and Sustainability of a Rural Heritage Place: Kemer, Turkey
Kemer Village, a historic rural settlement situated in western Anatolia, is a very good representative of rural heritage places of this geography. Well-preserved buildings and settlement tissue of the village, provide invaluable information about spatial and architectural features, construction materials and techniques common to this geography. However, upper-scale agricultural production and settlement policies, as well as changing ways of living in time, lead to depopulation, discard, alteration and even destruction of Kemer Village. Besides the physical aspects, its intangible aspects, like local living traditions, beliefs, rituals and indigenous knowledge, are also under the risk of disappearing. Although the population of the village decreased significantly in time, there are still inhabitants and local masons living in the village. Thus, it becomes possible to understand the factors, processes and dynamics of change in this rural settlement, so as to be able to define policies, strategies and actions for the conservation and sustainability.
Although the common tendency to provide economic development to prevent depopulation of the rural historic areas is to bring touristic activities, this decision disturbs the integrity of social and physical environment. In Kemer Village this tendency has not been initiated yet. Therefore, Kemer Village is on the border of being abandoned or being a touristic destination.
This presentation explains the rural architectural and settlement features of the historical village of Kemer Village, together with indigenous knowledge on living and building traditions, resources and processes. It also discusses the factors, processes and dynamics affecting Kemer Village as a historic rural settlement, and consequently, proposes principles, policies, strategies and actions for the conservation and sustainability of rural heritage place by including all the decision-makers, inhabitants and experts to the shared decisionmaking process.
In recent years, cultural heritage in Turkey has been subject to various forms of interventions f... more In recent years, cultural heritage in Turkey has been subject to various forms of interventions for its regeneration. While regulations for intervening in registered heritage places are considerably strict in Turkey, these interventions are realized under the Renewal Law. Renewal Law specifically enacted in 2005 for the regeneration of registered heritage places and the aim of the law is defined as valorizing and preserving timeworn heritage places, through ‘renewal projects’. Renewal law develops “new standards” for urban regeneration to overcome existing strict regulations by giving extensive rights to local authorities, for instance expropriation, which may result in the demolishment of heritage buildings and the displacement of local residents.
In Konak/İzmir, a central heritage place with residential, commercial, administrative and religious buildings, Izmir Municipality develops an alternative approach to renewal law with History İzmir Project. In the project, a bottom-up approach has been adopted and holistic strategies have been developed considering both the values of the heritage place and needs of residents, who are mostly immigrants from eastern cities of Turkey and Syria. The paper aims to explain the approach of the History İzmir Project, which aims to preserve the tangible and intangible values of the heritage place.
The interpretation of cultural heritage is often influenced by politics and ideology. Depending o... more The interpretation of cultural heritage is often influenced by politics and ideology. Depending on prevailing ideology, ways of intervening on cultural heritage places can change. Today, in Turkey heritage places are subject to interventions through urban transformation projects. These interventions may lead to changes, even destructions of socio-cultural values due to the emphasis on political, economic, ideological and religious motivations of decision makers.
“Hacı Bayram District” in Ankara is representative case that demonstrates the impact of politics and ideology on the changing values of heritage places.
The district has unique values due to the co-existence of the Hacı Bayram Mosque and the Augustus Temple. “Hacı Bayram Square Urban Design Project” was implemented in 2012 and values of heritage site were drastically transformed. The aim of this paper is to discuss transformation and possible misrepresentation of existing values in urban design project and changes in values following the implementation of projects.
Keywords: values of cultural heritage, politics and ideology, value changes, urban renewal
19th International Conference on Cultural Economics, Young Researchers Workshop, 2016
Conservation of cultural heritage is a 'value' based process. The concept of 'value' has been dis... more Conservation of cultural heritage is a 'value' based process. The concept of 'value' has been discussed in the field of conservation since the early 20th century and various value typologies ranging from socio-cultural to economic values are defined by different scholars since then. However, 'value' is a relatively subjective issue that change according to time, society and place. Today, in most of the cases, economic value of cultural heritage dominates its sociocultural values as a result of the increasing importance assigned to economic benefit. For this reason, heritage places become subject to for-profit interventions through urban transformation and regeneration projects. These projects may lead to demolitions and destructions of social and cultural values of cultural heritage due to emphasize on economic values. In Turkey, heritage buildings and sites are subject to laws for their conservation, limiting the future interventions. In order to overcome these 'legal obstacles', a new policy instrument is configured: the " renewal law ". The aim of this law is defined as economically valorizing deteriorated immovable heritage properties. According to renewal law, heritage properties are valorized from an economic perspective through a renovation process that entails the maintaining and conserving. This law has triggered conflicts in terms of conservation of cultural heritage This is because, " renewal projects " lead to the creation of areas with potentially high rents in historic areas and the conservation of cultural heritage is neglected in order to gain economic benefit. Thus, in the case of " renewal projects " , the tension between sociocultural and economic value definitions is evident. The PhD thesis will first analyze laws on urban regeneration in Turkey, second consider the different values that conservationists and economists recognize and third apply that mindset to investigate the case studies. For this reason, this dissertation will triangulate different information from different disciplines as cultural heritage conservation, urban policy and cultural economics. Hence, for the Young Researchers Workshop in ACEI 2016, I would like to discuss the different types of values involved in the selected " renewal projects " in Turkey which are (being) implemented in three major cities of Turkey: Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The presentation in Young Researcher Workshop aims to discuss the methodology for the assessment of sociocultural and economic values in renewal areas before and after the implementation of renewal projects and how these different values are transformed after the implementation.
Thesis Chapters by Ozgun Ozcakir
Conservation of cultural heritage is a ‘value’ based practice. The scholars in the fields of cons... more Conservation of cultural heritage is a ‘value’ based practice. The scholars in the fields of conservation and cultural economics have been aware of the co-existence of different values including economic as well as socio-cultural ones. Both the preservationist and economist approaches emphasize the subjectivity of ‘values’ that change according to time, context and the interests of different agents when intervention decisions about heritage places are at stake.
The heritage places located at the center of cities have become the arena of various interventions due to their values. To control the potentially destructive impact of interventions, heritage places in Turkey are subject to regulations for their conservation. However, in recent years, new policy instruments have been configured in order to overcome the existing control mechanisms and allow extensive interventions on heritage places in line with the interests and priorities of decision makers in Turkey. Law No. 5366/2005 on Renovating, Conserving and Actively Using Dilapidated Historical and Cultural Immovable Assets which was introduced for the transformation of renewal areas located within the boundaries of registered urban heritage places is one of the examples of new policy instruments.
In order to understand different intervention approaches in urban heritage places located within renewal areas, three urban heritage places in three different contexts are chosen for this study: Tarlabaşı in İstanbul, Hacı Bayram Square with its surrounding in Ankara and Kemeraltı-Konak in İzmir. In Tarlabaşı, due to the central location of the urban heritage place, the objective became to propose new luxurious living quarter through the expropriation of private properties and the displacement of residents. In Hacı Bayram Square and its surrounding, the aim was to create a new religious center by destroying the archaeological remains belonging to Roman Period, reconstructing old buildings and constructing new buildings using pseudo-traditional architectural language. In Kemeraltı-Konak, the social and cultural interests of decision makers have prevailed and interventions are proposed through the participation of different stakeholders to provide consensus between their values.
The interventions in these three heritage places showed that economic, ideological or socio-cultural priorities and interests of the decision makers determine the interventions in heritage places as a result of the extensive rights that renewal law gives to local authorities. Considering the impact of the interventions in Tarlabaşı, Hacı Bayram Square with its surrounding and Kemeraltı-Konak, the milieus of heritage places (physical setting, social environment and economic context) were altered and the values that they involve were changed. Three sets of relationship between interventions, values and milieus become evident to understand and assess changes: (i) values and intervention approaches, (ii) milieu and intervention approaches and (iii) values and milieus.
This study aims to understand the changes in urban heritage places and propose a tool for assessing these changes. The tool proposed for the assessment of change is the Heritage Value Circle (HVC) and it relies on the interrelation between intervention approaches, the values and the milieus of heritage places. HVC is operated in the three heritage places to demonstrate its application. The study also proposes policy recommendations to provide consensus between socio-cultural and economic values for the sustainability of urban heritage places.
Keywords: Economics of cultural heritage, Values of cultural heritage, Sustainability of urban heritage places
The main subject of the thesis is “interpretation” and “presentation” of cultural and natural her... more The main subject of the thesis is “interpretation” and “presentation” of cultural and natural heritage sites which is an important phenomenon providing sustainability and protection of the heritage sites. Interpretation and conservation are tightly associated to each other. Individuals will learn more about the heritage site by the help of interpretation and as a result of understanding; they will have an intention to protect the historic site more; and protection will ensure continuity of the site. Interpretation and presentation of heritage sites is put into the words in Turkish Legislation by the definition of “Environmental Design Project” in `Amendment Act No. 5226 Concerning to Revision of Legislation Called as Law Concerning to Conservation of Natural and Cultural Entities` in 2004. In the legislation, it is stated that Environmental Design Projects which propose strategies for effective presentation, control visitor use, provide promotion and advertisement, solve problems emerged as a result of current use and circulation and answer the needs of historic sites by contemporary tools and methods must be prepared for each heritage site in Turkey. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to define principles for effective interpretation and presentation on the selected case according to analysis and evaluations and then propose brand new comprehensive and complementary Environmental Design Project. The case selected in the thesis for the proposition of Environmental Design Project is Göreme Open Air Museum – GOAM in Cappadocia which is Turkey’s third most visited open air museum after Ephesus in İzmir and Hierapolis in Denizli. The two main reasons for the selection of GOAM are absence of comprehensive and complementary Environmental Design Project in GOAM and insufficiency of current interpretive facilities and visitor services presented in the museum as indicated in the decisions of Nevşehir Regional Council for Conservation of Cultural Entities. Focusing on the aim, thesis is structured in three parts which are interconnected to each other as the theoretical background of the interpretation and presentation in the world and in Turkish legislations, analysis and evaluation of the selected case and finally preliminary decisions and project proposal. To conclude, “Environmental Design Project” is an important tool for understanding the significance of the museum and providing easygoing and enjoyable visit for the museum visitors according to the values, problems and potentials of GOAM. In that respect, proposing environmental design project is critical in order to satisfy visitor needs during their museum visit and provide safeguarding of GOAM.
Conference Presentations by Ozgun Ozcakir
20th International Conference of Association for Cultural Economics International (ACEI) | ACEI 2018
Cultural heritage places embody socio-cultural and economic values and as a result of which, heri... more Cultural heritage places embody socio-cultural and economic values and as a result of which, heritage places become the subject of renewal interventions. It is evident that every renewal intervention is alteration to its values, then interventions will change the values that heritage places involve. Of course, economic values, i.e. the rent value of heritage corresponding to the real estate value, will also be affected by the renewal interventions. This " cause and effect " relationship between the renewal and the consequent changes in real estate values has raised an interest in heritage, both from the conservation and the economic point of view. Investigating this relationship in close-up, this study aims to illustrate the changing of real estate values of heritage places after the urban renewal projects by comparing two renewal projects from two metropolitan cities of Turkey: Tarlabaşı (İstanbul) and Konak (İzmir). The significance of these projects originates from the opposing renewal strategies in terms of approaching to real estate values and the existing ownership. Tarlabası was built in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries as a primarily middle-income, non-Muslim neighborhood. At the time being, the area lost its original population, then it became a dilapidated area. Due to the decrease in rent, the buildings became an attractive housing area for rural migrants with low-income. The renewal project in Tarlabaşı – entitled Taksim 360 – aims at constructing a brand new luxurious mixed-use complex to provide " economic benefit " for private investor by displacing inhabitants from their original location. This is followed by the expropriation of the buildings before the implementations have been initiated. As a counter example to Taksim 360 project, renewal project in Konak – entitled İzmir History Project – considers different values of cultural heritage and the needs of residents for " sustainable conservation ". Konak Renewal Area is a multi-layered and composite heritage place with residential, commercial, administrative and religious buildings belonging to different time periods. Currently, the heritage place is mostly occupied by immigrants from eastern cities of Turkey and war-torn Syria. In İzmir History Project, strategies have been defined by local authority for preventing changes in ownership and increases in rent values. Considering the initial aims of Taksim 360 and İzmir History Project which are totally different, an increase in real estate value following the implementation of the renewal projects has been observed in both cases. The change in real estate value is extremely drastic in Tarlabaşı comparing to Konak due to the economic potential of the site and the profit oriented interventions throughout the project. In Konak case, although the precautions are taken to prevent the risk of rent increase, there is still a rise in real estate values which may also lead the residents to leave the area in near future. By examining these two contrasting cases, the paper aims to illustrate the (potential) effects of renewal projects to the socio-cultural and economic values of heritage places by emphasizing inevitable increase in real estate values regardless of the initial intentions; either in the name " economic benefit " or " sustainable conservation " .
19th ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium 2017 | Heritage and Democracy, 2017
In recent years, cultural heritage in Turkey has been subject to various forms of renewal interve... more In recent years, cultural heritage in Turkey has been subject to various forms of renewal interventions. These interventions are realized through a law (Act No. 5366, Renewal Law) specifically developed for the renewal of registered heritage places. The aim of the law is defined as valorizing and preserving timeworn heritage places, through ‘renewal projects’. While the aim of the Renewal Law is described as preservation, many projects based on this law propose mixed-use developments by expropriating heritage places, displacing local residents and changing their tangible and intangible features.
Tarlabaşı in İstanbul, a heritage place at the core of İstanbul, is one of the concrete examples of this renewal approach. Tarlabaşı was inhabited by different social groups which are generally considered as “problematic” such as urban poor, immigrants and sex workers. In order to achieve the renewal objectives of the local authority (decision maker in the public sphere) and investors (decision maker in the market sphere), many of the buildings were expropriated and destroyed while people living in the area were displaced. Consequently, the rent value of Tarlabaşı has dramatically increased, while socio-cultural values are almost totally lost.
The “Renewal Law” has been applied in a completely different manner in Konak, a central heritage place with residential, commercial, administrative and religious buildings in İzmir. The social structure of the area is also diverse consisting mostly of immigrants from eastern cities of Turkey and Syria. In the renewal project, a bottom-up approach has been adopted and holistic/inclusive strategies have been developed considering both residents’ needs and the values of heritage place.
The aim of the paper is to discuss two opposite renewal approaches using the same legal tool by referring to these two renewal projects. The paper compares these approaches and critically assesses the effects of renewal projects on the preservation of the tangible and intangible values of heritage places.
Key words: urban renewal, inclusiveness vs. exclusiveness, participation, sustainability
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Papers by Ozgun Ozcakir
Keywords: Heritage impact assessment (HIA), urban heritage places, sustainability, İstanbul, İzmir
Rural Heritage: Landscapes and Beyond
Panel 10: Rural Heritage Places in Turkey: Different Contexts | Diverse Issues | Distinct Responses
Panel 10. Paper 10.1: From Understanding to Action for Conservation and Sustainability of a Rural Heritage Place: Kemer, Turkey
Kemer Village, a historic rural settlement situated in western Anatolia, is a very good representative of rural heritage places of this geography. Well-preserved buildings and settlement tissue of the village, provide invaluable information about spatial and architectural features, construction materials and techniques common to this geography. However, upper-scale agricultural production and settlement policies, as well as changing ways of living in time, lead to depopulation, discard, alteration and even destruction of Kemer Village. Besides the physical aspects, its intangible aspects, like local living traditions, beliefs, rituals and indigenous knowledge, are also under the risk of disappearing. Although the population of the village decreased significantly in time, there are still inhabitants and local masons living in the village. Thus, it becomes possible to understand the factors, processes and dynamics of change in this rural settlement, so as to be able to define policies, strategies and actions for the conservation and sustainability.
Although the common tendency to provide economic development to prevent depopulation of the rural historic areas is to bring touristic activities, this decision disturbs the integrity of social and physical environment. In Kemer Village this tendency has not been initiated yet. Therefore, Kemer Village is on the border of being abandoned or being a touristic destination.
This presentation explains the rural architectural and settlement features of the historical village of Kemer Village, together with indigenous knowledge on living and building traditions, resources and processes. It also discusses the factors, processes and dynamics affecting Kemer Village as a historic rural settlement, and consequently, proposes principles, policies, strategies and actions for the conservation and sustainability of rural heritage place by including all the decision-makers, inhabitants and experts to the shared decisionmaking process.
In Konak/İzmir, a central heritage place with residential, commercial, administrative and religious buildings, Izmir Municipality develops an alternative approach to renewal law with History İzmir Project. In the project, a bottom-up approach has been adopted and holistic strategies have been developed considering both the values of the heritage place and needs of residents, who are mostly immigrants from eastern cities of Turkey and Syria. The paper aims to explain the approach of the History İzmir Project, which aims to preserve the tangible and intangible values of the heritage place.
“Hacı Bayram District” in Ankara is representative case that demonstrates the impact of politics and ideology on the changing values of heritage places.
The district has unique values due to the co-existence of the Hacı Bayram Mosque and the Augustus Temple. “Hacı Bayram Square Urban Design Project” was implemented in 2012 and values of heritage site were drastically transformed. The aim of this paper is to discuss transformation and possible misrepresentation of existing values in urban design project and changes in values following the implementation of projects.
Keywords: values of cultural heritage, politics and ideology, value changes, urban renewal
Thesis Chapters by Ozgun Ozcakir
The heritage places located at the center of cities have become the arena of various interventions due to their values. To control the potentially destructive impact of interventions, heritage places in Turkey are subject to regulations for their conservation. However, in recent years, new policy instruments have been configured in order to overcome the existing control mechanisms and allow extensive interventions on heritage places in line with the interests and priorities of decision makers in Turkey. Law No. 5366/2005 on Renovating, Conserving and Actively Using Dilapidated Historical and Cultural Immovable Assets which was introduced for the transformation of renewal areas located within the boundaries of registered urban heritage places is one of the examples of new policy instruments.
In order to understand different intervention approaches in urban heritage places located within renewal areas, three urban heritage places in three different contexts are chosen for this study: Tarlabaşı in İstanbul, Hacı Bayram Square with its surrounding in Ankara and Kemeraltı-Konak in İzmir. In Tarlabaşı, due to the central location of the urban heritage place, the objective became to propose new luxurious living quarter through the expropriation of private properties and the displacement of residents. In Hacı Bayram Square and its surrounding, the aim was to create a new religious center by destroying the archaeological remains belonging to Roman Period, reconstructing old buildings and constructing new buildings using pseudo-traditional architectural language. In Kemeraltı-Konak, the social and cultural interests of decision makers have prevailed and interventions are proposed through the participation of different stakeholders to provide consensus between their values.
The interventions in these three heritage places showed that economic, ideological or socio-cultural priorities and interests of the decision makers determine the interventions in heritage places as a result of the extensive rights that renewal law gives to local authorities. Considering the impact of the interventions in Tarlabaşı, Hacı Bayram Square with its surrounding and Kemeraltı-Konak, the milieus of heritage places (physical setting, social environment and economic context) were altered and the values that they involve were changed. Three sets of relationship between interventions, values and milieus become evident to understand and assess changes: (i) values and intervention approaches, (ii) milieu and intervention approaches and (iii) values and milieus.
This study aims to understand the changes in urban heritage places and propose a tool for assessing these changes. The tool proposed for the assessment of change is the Heritage Value Circle (HVC) and it relies on the interrelation between intervention approaches, the values and the milieus of heritage places. HVC is operated in the three heritage places to demonstrate its application. The study also proposes policy recommendations to provide consensus between socio-cultural and economic values for the sustainability of urban heritage places.
Keywords: Economics of cultural heritage, Values of cultural heritage, Sustainability of urban heritage places
Conference Presentations by Ozgun Ozcakir
Tarlabaşı in İstanbul, a heritage place at the core of İstanbul, is one of the concrete examples of this renewal approach. Tarlabaşı was inhabited by different social groups which are generally considered as “problematic” such as urban poor, immigrants and sex workers. In order to achieve the renewal objectives of the local authority (decision maker in the public sphere) and investors (decision maker in the market sphere), many of the buildings were expropriated and destroyed while people living in the area were displaced. Consequently, the rent value of Tarlabaşı has dramatically increased, while socio-cultural values are almost totally lost.
The “Renewal Law” has been applied in a completely different manner in Konak, a central heritage place with residential, commercial, administrative and religious buildings in İzmir. The social structure of the area is also diverse consisting mostly of immigrants from eastern cities of Turkey and Syria. In the renewal project, a bottom-up approach has been adopted and holistic/inclusive strategies have been developed considering both residents’ needs and the values of heritage place.
The aim of the paper is to discuss two opposite renewal approaches using the same legal tool by referring to these two renewal projects. The paper compares these approaches and critically assesses the effects of renewal projects on the preservation of the tangible and intangible values of heritage places.
Key words: urban renewal, inclusiveness vs. exclusiveness, participation, sustainability
Keywords: Heritage impact assessment (HIA), urban heritage places, sustainability, İstanbul, İzmir
Rural Heritage: Landscapes and Beyond
Panel 10: Rural Heritage Places in Turkey: Different Contexts | Diverse Issues | Distinct Responses
Panel 10. Paper 10.1: From Understanding to Action for Conservation and Sustainability of a Rural Heritage Place: Kemer, Turkey
Kemer Village, a historic rural settlement situated in western Anatolia, is a very good representative of rural heritage places of this geography. Well-preserved buildings and settlement tissue of the village, provide invaluable information about spatial and architectural features, construction materials and techniques common to this geography. However, upper-scale agricultural production and settlement policies, as well as changing ways of living in time, lead to depopulation, discard, alteration and even destruction of Kemer Village. Besides the physical aspects, its intangible aspects, like local living traditions, beliefs, rituals and indigenous knowledge, are also under the risk of disappearing. Although the population of the village decreased significantly in time, there are still inhabitants and local masons living in the village. Thus, it becomes possible to understand the factors, processes and dynamics of change in this rural settlement, so as to be able to define policies, strategies and actions for the conservation and sustainability.
Although the common tendency to provide economic development to prevent depopulation of the rural historic areas is to bring touristic activities, this decision disturbs the integrity of social and physical environment. In Kemer Village this tendency has not been initiated yet. Therefore, Kemer Village is on the border of being abandoned or being a touristic destination.
This presentation explains the rural architectural and settlement features of the historical village of Kemer Village, together with indigenous knowledge on living and building traditions, resources and processes. It also discusses the factors, processes and dynamics affecting Kemer Village as a historic rural settlement, and consequently, proposes principles, policies, strategies and actions for the conservation and sustainability of rural heritage place by including all the decision-makers, inhabitants and experts to the shared decisionmaking process.
In Konak/İzmir, a central heritage place with residential, commercial, administrative and religious buildings, Izmir Municipality develops an alternative approach to renewal law with History İzmir Project. In the project, a bottom-up approach has been adopted and holistic strategies have been developed considering both the values of the heritage place and needs of residents, who are mostly immigrants from eastern cities of Turkey and Syria. The paper aims to explain the approach of the History İzmir Project, which aims to preserve the tangible and intangible values of the heritage place.
“Hacı Bayram District” in Ankara is representative case that demonstrates the impact of politics and ideology on the changing values of heritage places.
The district has unique values due to the co-existence of the Hacı Bayram Mosque and the Augustus Temple. “Hacı Bayram Square Urban Design Project” was implemented in 2012 and values of heritage site were drastically transformed. The aim of this paper is to discuss transformation and possible misrepresentation of existing values in urban design project and changes in values following the implementation of projects.
Keywords: values of cultural heritage, politics and ideology, value changes, urban renewal
The heritage places located at the center of cities have become the arena of various interventions due to their values. To control the potentially destructive impact of interventions, heritage places in Turkey are subject to regulations for their conservation. However, in recent years, new policy instruments have been configured in order to overcome the existing control mechanisms and allow extensive interventions on heritage places in line with the interests and priorities of decision makers in Turkey. Law No. 5366/2005 on Renovating, Conserving and Actively Using Dilapidated Historical and Cultural Immovable Assets which was introduced for the transformation of renewal areas located within the boundaries of registered urban heritage places is one of the examples of new policy instruments.
In order to understand different intervention approaches in urban heritage places located within renewal areas, three urban heritage places in three different contexts are chosen for this study: Tarlabaşı in İstanbul, Hacı Bayram Square with its surrounding in Ankara and Kemeraltı-Konak in İzmir. In Tarlabaşı, due to the central location of the urban heritage place, the objective became to propose new luxurious living quarter through the expropriation of private properties and the displacement of residents. In Hacı Bayram Square and its surrounding, the aim was to create a new religious center by destroying the archaeological remains belonging to Roman Period, reconstructing old buildings and constructing new buildings using pseudo-traditional architectural language. In Kemeraltı-Konak, the social and cultural interests of decision makers have prevailed and interventions are proposed through the participation of different stakeholders to provide consensus between their values.
The interventions in these three heritage places showed that economic, ideological or socio-cultural priorities and interests of the decision makers determine the interventions in heritage places as a result of the extensive rights that renewal law gives to local authorities. Considering the impact of the interventions in Tarlabaşı, Hacı Bayram Square with its surrounding and Kemeraltı-Konak, the milieus of heritage places (physical setting, social environment and economic context) were altered and the values that they involve were changed. Three sets of relationship between interventions, values and milieus become evident to understand and assess changes: (i) values and intervention approaches, (ii) milieu and intervention approaches and (iii) values and milieus.
This study aims to understand the changes in urban heritage places and propose a tool for assessing these changes. The tool proposed for the assessment of change is the Heritage Value Circle (HVC) and it relies on the interrelation between intervention approaches, the values and the milieus of heritage places. HVC is operated in the three heritage places to demonstrate its application. The study also proposes policy recommendations to provide consensus between socio-cultural and economic values for the sustainability of urban heritage places.
Keywords: Economics of cultural heritage, Values of cultural heritage, Sustainability of urban heritage places
Tarlabaşı in İstanbul, a heritage place at the core of İstanbul, is one of the concrete examples of this renewal approach. Tarlabaşı was inhabited by different social groups which are generally considered as “problematic” such as urban poor, immigrants and sex workers. In order to achieve the renewal objectives of the local authority (decision maker in the public sphere) and investors (decision maker in the market sphere), many of the buildings were expropriated and destroyed while people living in the area were displaced. Consequently, the rent value of Tarlabaşı has dramatically increased, while socio-cultural values are almost totally lost.
The “Renewal Law” has been applied in a completely different manner in Konak, a central heritage place with residential, commercial, administrative and religious buildings in İzmir. The social structure of the area is also diverse consisting mostly of immigrants from eastern cities of Turkey and Syria. In the renewal project, a bottom-up approach has been adopted and holistic/inclusive strategies have been developed considering both residents’ needs and the values of heritage place.
The aim of the paper is to discuss two opposite renewal approaches using the same legal tool by referring to these two renewal projects. The paper compares these approaches and critically assesses the effects of renewal projects on the preservation of the tangible and intangible values of heritage places.
Key words: urban renewal, inclusiveness vs. exclusiveness, participation, sustainability
The present book is one of the outcomes of the inaugural program of NIT Urban Heritage Lab. Following an introduction on the course, its scope and aims, it showcases the four proposals that the participants of the Industrial Heritage for Sustainable Cities Course developed for the transformation of the Unkapanı Flour Mill. The proposals are original, thought-provoking and inspirational, while at the same time based on solid multi-disciplinary, collaborative work. So, they are perfect demonstrations of what NIT Urban Heritage Lab tries to achieve.