Küresel Yeniden Yapılanma Sürecinde Kentsel Müdahaleler Ve Kentsel Kimlik Etkileşimi:rize Kenti Örneği

Abstract

Kentler, toplumların yaşam mekanları olarak, sürekli bir değişim ve dönüşüm içindedirler. Tarih boyunca devam eden bu süreç, günümüz dünyasının teknolojik, ekonomik, politik ve sosyo-kültürel değişimleri ile hız kazanmış ve kentlere yapılan müdahaleler farklılaşarak artmıştır. Küreselleşmenin farklılıkları ortadan kaldırmaya yönelik etkileri, yerellik kavramını öne çıkarmış ve kentlere yapılan müdahalelerin odak noktasına kültürel değerler konularak, kültür kullanılmış ve sunulmuştur. Bu noktada kentlere yapılan müdahalelerin kentsel kimlik ve kültür ile etkileşimi öne çıkmaktadır. Müdahalelerin çevresel ve toplumsal etkileri, kentin kimliğini oluşturan doğal ve yapılı çevre, sosyo-ekonomik, sosyo-kültürel özellikler gibi noktalarda kent kimliği ile etkileşim içindedir. Bu etkileşim sisteminde üzerinde durulan nokta, müdahalelerin toplumun genelini kapsayan, yalnızca fiziksel değil aynı zamanda toplumsal bir gelişmeyi de hedefleyen nitelikte olmasıdır. Bu bağlamda müdahalelerde, kentin kültürel değerleri kullanılırken, kültürün korunması, geliştirilmesi ve sürekliliğinin sağlanması altı çizilmesi gereken noktayı ve tezin amacını oluşturmaktadır. Bu bakış açısı ile tez kapsamında ele alınan konular öncelikle, değişim, dönüşüm ve kent gibi temel kavramlar olmuştur, ardından kentlerin biçimlenişinde önemli bir konumda olan kentsel dönüşümler ele alınmış ve günümüz dönüşümlerinin öne çıkan dinamiklerinden, küreselleşme kavramı üzerinde durulmuştur. Daha sonra küreselleşme ile yaşanan toplumsal ve mekansal yapılanma sürecinde, yerelleşme kavramı odağa alınmış ve metropoller, büyük kentler, küçük kentler olarak gruplanan kentler, uygulanan müdahalelerin yaklaşımları bağlamında ele alınmıştır. Müdahalelerin kültürü kullanma noktasında öne çıkan kentsel kimlik kavramı, bileşenleri ve mimari kimlik alt başlıklarında irdelenmiş, kentsel kimliğin kültürel boyutu ve kültürün sürekliliği ele alınmıştır. Son olarak ortaya konan kentsel kimlik, kentsel müdahaleler ve kültürel süreklilik etkileşim sistemi, Rize Kenti’nde deneyimlenmiş, kentte son yıllarda uygulanan yapıların, geleneksel mimariden izler taşıyarak kültürel süreklilik ve kent kimliği ile kurdukları ilişki değerlendirilmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu noktada ortaya konulan örneklere üzerinden ulaşılan nokta olarak, kültürel sürekliliğin sağlanmasının mevcut yapılı çevre ile kurulan ilişkinin niteliği ve yeni yapıların özgünlüğü olduğu düşünülmektedir. Geleneksel kültürden yalnızca biçimsel anlamda yararlanmanın yeterli olmayacağı düşünülmekte, geleneksel yapılar ile kurulan ilişkilerin ilk adımının onları korumak ve yaşatmak, ardından onları analiz ederek, onlardan doğru bir biçimde yararlanmak olduğu düşünülmektedir.

Cities have been changing according to social and environmental dynamics since antiquity. In today s world, the global reconstruction process is defined according to the deep changes that affect both society and its cities. The changes in technology, economy and politics emphasize the dynamics of society and the environment, in which we can observe new interventions exercised on urban areas. The cities which compete to draw capital to their own areas have to create distinctness and variety by working with different strategies to achieve their goals. Therefore the differentiation period of the unifying and integrating atmosphere of globalization becomes a renewable object of locality and cultural values of society. This has been applied through; Interventions exercised on towns, projects that assess towns regionally and aim to revitalize them, organizations that aim to strengthen segmentation through inter-town webs or improve town extensions by creating developmental processes such as urban transformation projects through the aid various activities. In this context, we can see that the main goal is to revitalize a region s economy or to sustain it and to accomplish this goal we can also observe that cities divide into sub-categories and have different approaches to the subject matter. It is apparent that larger cities resort to bigger organizations and urban transformation projects whereas smaller cities take a path that focuses on becoming a special city and use strategies that focus on more realistic goals. Rize, as a small city, aims to use all its potential in terms of tourism, therefore the interventions focus on bettering the environment and asserting cultural values. A city s identity is made up of environmental and social values, it is never static and constantly develops and renews itself. In this context, Rize should be assessed by its natural beauties, environment, social identity, socio-economic structure, culture, history and corporate assets as a whole and it has become what it is today thanks to the changes in social and spatial dynamics through interventions. At this point when urbanites are asked about what the main features of a town are, they respond; the tea farming, the diverse structure of the people, the natural and built environment which makes up the social and spatial breaking point of its historical process. As with many other cities throughout the world, Rize strives to better its tourism through social interventions and policies that aim to assert the cultural values of the city. Alongside interventions, there are many projects that are influenced by the city s traditional architecture. These projects used the city s traditional culture to help create a new vision, to heighten the quality of life and revitalize the economy thus we can observe that in order to create a sense of cohesion between new structures and the city, regional efforts have been made and urban transformation projects have been implemented in rural areas. Regarding what has been mentioned above, most interventions have been exercised on the district of Güneysu and the projects focused on the area aimed to, in terms of field operations, assert the interaction between the interventions and the urban identity. In terms of the projects interaction with the city s identity, it is apparent to us that these projects take into consideration the general well fare of the city s inhabitants and that these projects work in a manner of unity rather than create diversity and segregation among the people and the city. It has been observed that when implementing the projects there has been no disapproval of socializations or demolitions by the public. It has also been observed that the new structures have revitalized the economy of the city and brought an air of cultural liveliness. So it is safe to say the Transformation Project of Güneysu is a success in terms of legislation, administration, society, economy and planning. In terms of the cultural architecture s interaction with the interventions mentioned in this thesis, it is important to point out that the general opinion on the new structures is that they resemble the traditional architecture only in material and scale, that they are reflections of the traditional architecture and are not sufficient nor apt. Therefore we come to the conclusion that the projects should focus on preserving the traditional architecture during development. It is also concluded at this point that, the project has not been sufficient in terms of transferring the traditional culture of the city but it played an important role to create an awareness towards the traditional architecture of the region. The changes caused by the project have also created an active atmosphere in which those who like the new structures try and emulate them, whereas those who don t, come up with new ideas. The most important thing to consider in the context of cultural persistence is the relation between the new structures and the environment, also the originality of the new structures too. Regarding the examples given in the thesis, it is safe to assume that using the traditional culture only in terms of stylistics is not sufficient, it is also very important to preserve the traditional architecture and analyze them to make use of their full potential. The given examples also show us that, there is a lack of awareness concerning the benefiting from traditional environments. When analyzing the culture from its abstract aspects to its more concrete ones, it can be concluded that awareness can be raised and sustained. Considering the latter, the aim is to create an environment where cultural values are protected, a healthy, high quality and modern urban atmosphere is ensured, and everyone from any social class has an active role in this process. As it can be seen, what is important is to think and create. The interventionist atmosphere in Rize has existed and continues to exist in many other cities throughout the country. Architecture, as an art form which expresses the epochs society goes through, will continue to mold its built environment through different styles. Therefore, considering tastes change over time, the main goal should be to find ways to reproduce and sustain cultural values. As mentioned throughout the thesis, cities are dynamic structures since they symbolize a people s culture, they reflect the changes society goes through and they provide living spaces. Considering that change and transformation are inevitable and that all cities change according to new their administrations views, the main and stable goal should be to preserve cultural values and realize that a strategy that involves ambiguity and uncertainty should be avoided. Alongside preserving traditional architecture it is important to construct new structures, that may or may not resemble traditional architecture, according to the demands of technology and contemporary lifestyles while keeping faithful to the rich substructure. If this can be accomplished, cities will be able reflect their traditional architecture alongside original, hybrid and contemporary structures, thus achieving a stratified environment. This stratification, as each top layer develops, will be home to the changes society experiences and will trigger the creation of spatial areas to ensure these changes occur. In conclusion, it is thought that architects and planners play a key role in the development of urban areas which affect the changes society is going through and will go through in the future. In terms of the urban identity s interaction with the cultural continuity, it is important that all new structures are seen as an asset, and that they are built with this attitude in order to improve the cultural identity and sustain its existence. Considering this, authorized people concered with development should research more, think and produce newer things so that societies and cities can reach eras where values are protected and developed, and new ones are created .