Neighbourhood Patterns in Istanbul: From Historical Form to Manhattanization

Abstract

During the last century, the transformation of Istanbul’s urban structure from monocentric to multi-centric and its rapid population growth resulted in neighborhood patterns which are spread across a large spectrum according to their location and their cultural, socio-economic and historical backgrounds. In urban settings, the potential environment is reinterpreted by its users, and is realized through the application of the space and time-specific societal norms within the context of technological advances. The present study investigates the selected neighborhood patterns from historical to westernized, modern, post-modern (gated) and Manhattanized forms. According to the results of the study, although some of the historical, westernized and modern neighborhoods have been preserved to a large extent, the haphazard development of high-rise residential buildings has caused traffic congestion, pollution, an increased income gap and changes in land values, and has thus produced functional transformations in their immediate surroundings. In addition, this unnecessary increase in housing density is not only harmful for the city’s famous silhouette but also for its traditional neighborhood relationships. In order to allow a physically, economically and socially more balanced development of the city, it is necessary to control its growth and follow a system of planned development which is not solely for the benefit of real estate investors. It is hoped that the results of the study will be useful for the urban and regional planners, policy makers and investors.