Open AccessCommunity engagement in developing urban design guidance for heritage sites: The case of Bursa, Turkey
Author(s) -
Síbel Polat,
Hüseyin Yıldız
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
urbani izziv
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.275
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1855-8399
pISSN - 0353-6483
DOI - 10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2019-30-02-001
Subject(s) - urban design , environmental planning , urbanization , context (archaeology) , urban planning , cultural heritage , citizen journalism , place identity , community engagement , political science , geography , environmental resource management , civil engineering , public relations , engineering , economic growth , archaeology , environmental science , law , economics
In recent years, central and local governments have carried out studies to establish a legal administrative infrastructure for urban design and to develop urban design guidance to preserve the identity of historic cities under the pressure of rapid urbanization in Turkey. The main aim of this article is to explain how we implemented a participatory urban design guidance (PUrDeG) model for cultural heritage sites, which was developed as part of a research project. We explain how we used various techniques to engage various actors in preparing urban design guidelines for a cultural heritage site. In addition, the article discusses the importance of community engagement techniques and processes in developing urban design guidance, and the context of guidelines for sustainable conservation of cultural heritage sites with examples from the United Kingdom and Turkey. It then presents a case study conducted in the Hanlar District, a Unesco world heritage site in Bursa, Turkey. The case study includes research on planning decisions, site analysis, a survey of urban residents, in depth interviews with local artisans, and an urban design workshop with various actors. The main outcomes of this study include a presentation of how to use various community engagement techniques to prepare urban design guidelines for cultural heritage sites in Turkey, an urban design guidance system for Bursa, and a list of recommendations related to urban design guidelines for the Hanlar District and Bursa in the light of UK experience.