3. Cultural Dimension / Local Identities and Meanings 645 Tree-Squares in Anatolia: What does an emergent public space mean? Duygu Cihanger Middle East Technical University, City and Regional Planning Department
[email protected] Urban places, besides their physical characteristics, are regarded as grounds where personal or collective meanings are created and accumulated. An individual can capture the meaning of a place, or create new meanings by relying on his/her own feelings and experiences. This research, by discussing the idea of togetherness of meaning and design in urban spaces, presents trees both as place making and meaning generating features, which honors the local identity of a site. Tree-squares are, therefore, the unique urban public places where this relationship is observed clearly. The researcher’s encounter with a Çınaraltı Square - a Turkish term used to define public places under massive and historical plane trees and will be referred as Tree-Square within the scope of this paper - which is marked by a plane tree that is called Musa (Moses) Plane in Antakya/Turkey has triggered an idea of questioning the urban planning and design approaches beyond the broadly accepted role of trees as natural and aesthetic beings in cities. Later on, Yalvaç Plane in Yalvaç/Isparta site, and the outstanding public place under its tremendous branches carried this wonder one step further, since this Tree-Square was not only an attractive place with a magnificent plane tree, but also the heart of the city. It was unplanned and un-envisioned by any kind of legal planning or design authority; instead, it was emerged and developed out of the cultural beliefs and traditions.