The Case of Istanbul, Tuzla Settlement
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Ali Kılıç, Oya Akın and Bora Yerliyurt, Culture Coming Through Water and City/Inhabitant That Doesn’t Live This Culture, 42 nd ISoCaRP Congress 2006 Culture Coming Through Water and City/Inhabitant That Doesn’t Live This Culture; The Case Of Istanbul, Tuzla Settlement Ali Kılıç Oya Akın Bora Yerliyurt Faculty of Architecture, Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul INTRODUCTION The concept of waterfront is basically defined to be the contact of land, building and city with sea (New Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus, 1992). an other definition is; “The border where ‘water world’ which is the source of the human beings and ‘land world’ which the people live their ordinary life with the various lifestyles, are inosculated (Çolak, 2005).” Both of the definitions define waterfront to be the transition “interface” between the sea and land. This factor leads waterfront to have a transparent surface and to have variety and richness in geographical features, such as climate, topography and flora etc., economic relations, socio-economic cultural networks and the most important of all, settlement culture. In this context, waterfront where is a meeting point and welfare, was the starting point of human settlements. When the evolution of settlement culture is considered, it is seen that with preferable characteristics, in such areas as defense, transportation, scenery, climate, power and leisure, waterfronts come to the forefront for settlement (Bender, 1993; Çolak, 2005). Harbors, which are gateway to the outside world of the cities located on the waterfront, are the dominant factors in economic activity and cultural exchange. The cultural and spatial landscapes of these cities are shaped conditional on the interplay of geographical features, economic activity and social strata by the dynamics which is diverse, flexible and transparent. Thereby, cities established at the waterfront exhibit diversity and different characteristics compared with the other cities. Therefore the main determinants of the urban identity which is defined to be the “the mix of city’s geographical features, cultural heritage, built environment, local traditions and life style” (Suher, 1995), are the coastal and cultural features of waterfront. According to another definition, the waterfront covers the area bounded by horizon from the sea and silhouette from the land, and extends to air and deep water (Karabey, 1978). In line with this definition, waterfronts are considered differently from sea and land. In addition to the natural features, the specific use of the waterfront and the properties of the landscape are important in determining the visual properties of the waterfront. The image of urban identity is composed of the following properties: urban image as approached from the sea, the sense of depth while viewing the sea, functional features located at the waterfront and user typologies. The waterfront and the features interacting with the waterfront shaped the spatial, economic and socio-cultural structure of the urban identity of İstanbul. Water (waterfront) is a means for transportation and economic activity has been an important factor that enriches the lifes of citizens. The variety in the waterfront with different structure and typologies brought about a distinctive “settlement culture”. - 1 - Ali Kılıç, Oya Akın and Bora Yerliyurt, Culture Coming Through Water and City/Inhabitant That Doesn’t Live This Culture, 42 nd ISoCaRP Congress 2006 However, parallel to all seaside cities in the world, the city of Istanbul also first integrated with the water and then got away from it. The urban identity based on water, started to give its way to a land city identity as economic activities clustered around industry and cities started to grow and extend with the process of rapid urbanization. In this respect, seaside towns, which are becoming ordinary and increasingly similar to each other, and which are losing their colours, started to be reshaped in the transformation process. This effort of reshaping causes the forming of very similar (copy-paste) cities all around the world as it is a process that destroys the past traces of waterfront settlements. Consequently, cities / citizens are losing their links with their history while they are facing their future and are being alienated from themselves. The aim of this study is to analyze the alienation process of the city and the citizens from the waterfront and to seek clues to resuscitate this culture, using the specific examples of Istanbul and Tuzla settlement. In this context, the issue will be discussed under three main sections. In the first section, it will be discussed how the settlement culture of Istanbul, shaped by the city’s interaction with the waterfront changed in the process, how the city lost its cultural traces and how it alienated from its waterfront. In the second section, the changing spatial, social and economic properties of the Tuzla settlement, which is a privileged sub region in the city of Istanbul, in the pre and post 1980 periods will be analyzed. Also, the development of urban spaces and elements of social structure that cannot integrate with Tuzla’s waterfront settlement culture will be evaluated. In the third section, the answers to questions will be seek such as how the issue should be dealt in terms of planning policies and whether Tuzla would be added to the urban space as a coast of the metropolis and alienate from itself or is it possible for Tuzla to be a part of the metropolis by rebuilding the spatial, economic and socio-cultural network to integrate with its local values. 1. İSTANBUL WATERFRONT SETTLEMENT CULTURE AND DYNAMICS OF CHANGE İstanbul is a coastal settlement surrounded by Black Sea (north), Marmara Sea (south), the Bosporus and Haliç (Golden horn). In İstanbul, sea is everywhere; sea is not only a beautiful landscape but also a promenade, medium of transportation and a natural ventilation channel. (Çelik, 1998; Gül & Kılıç, 2002). The sea can be perceived as an instrument for separation but being the major link between the waterfronts also makes it a tool for unifying the city. With these features, waterfronts serve as potential locations for transportation, recreation, entertainment, socializing. Therefore, the sea has always occupied a prominent role in the life of citizens living in İstanbul (Ünal, Yenen, Enlil 1993). In the past, the three major functions of water; transportation, defense and economy, played a big role in the foundation and later on the development of İstanbul. Harbors provide important dynamics for economic development and are the focal points for the cross-cultural exchange and trade. The city has expanded with means of harbors, with which it defended herself and traded with other cities. The identity of coastal settlement, at sometimes came to the forefront and shaped the culture of living with the waterfront, but sometimes turns her face back to the water with a new identity. In other words, as the city was expanding throughout the land, her contact with the sea and the waterfront was weakened. - 2 - Ali Kılıç, Oya Akın and Bora Yerliyurt, Culture Coming Through Water and City/Inhabitant That Doesn’t Live This Culture, 42 nd ISoCaRP Congress 2006 In the following sections, the development of İstanbul according to the social, economic and spatial dimensions will be summarized. 1.1. ANTIQUITY (BYZANTION) Byzantion is a colonial city that was built on the outskirts of one of the seven hills. Being a city of trade colony, harbor was the heart and the main reason for foundation (Çelik, 1998; Eyice & Yücel, 1996). The acropolis, which was located behind the harbor, is the dominant factor that shapes the city location. As a result, the city is shaped by the harbor and its hinterland. In other words city was in constant contact with the sea through the harbor. However, like all the coastal trading colonies, concerns about the defense of the city, would lead to construction of city walls around the city; these walls in turn would limit the contact of the social life with the sea to the harbor area. 1.2. ROMAN and BYZANTINE ERA This era can be divided into two periods: early Byzantine period, influenced by Roman culture and the Byzantine period. In the Early Byzantine period (AD 4-7 century) , as a result of desire to found a new capital away from the old one, İstanbul was expanded around the harbors. Thereby İstanbul became a center for political, economic and cultural activity (Çelik, 1998; Eyice & Yücel, 1996). The city became a “transit route” for the European, Black Sea, Anatolian, Middle Eastern, and Far Eastern merchandise trade. The harbors, as focal points of interaction between different ethnicities and languages, were the gates of the city. The monumental roads to the harbors and monuments symbolized the wealth and the power of the city. Thereby, the major axis of social life was extended to the shores of Marmara Sea. In the Byzantine period (AD 7-15. century) with the advent of Christianity, the identity of city was transformed into an inward looking medieval city. The inward looking social interaction were concentrated around the churches and marketplaces. Given the fact that the city was one of the most important trade centers of the medieval era, the waterfront was connected through the harbors. On the other hand, Galata region was becoming a center for trade with Genoan traders, hence the city assumed more cosmopolitan culture with the different religions and languages (Çelik, 1998; Eyice % Yücel, 1996). All in all, water and waterfront was considered to be medium of transportation and harbors were considered to be a marketplace. Thereby, the interaction between city/ citizens and water was limited. 1.3. OTTOMAN PERIOD As the capital of the empire, İstanbul symbolized the strength of the state. As the dominant religion was changing, the buildings of religious practice came to the forefront.