Page 25 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 2

Elif Özlem Aydın

buildings common practice, and to expand the use stage of buildings and
textures as long as possible. The expansion of the use periods of buildings
is essential for reducing the consumption of energy and natural resources
and preventing environmental pollution. It is certain that textures made up of
sustainable buildings designed for long-term will benefit settlements in terms
of resilience. In this sense, it is observed that practices towards conservation
of buildings of cultural heritage value, which have survived for years, and the
adaptable reuse of these buildings to increase their period of use make up
sustainable approaches with a positive effect on the environment.

4. Lessons to learn from Historical Settlements in Creating Sustainable
Construction Criteria

In the pre-industrial era, every society constructed buildings in accordance
with their beliefs and opinions, suitable for themselves, allowing them to
maintain their social habits. Moreover, they pursued crafts and occupations
based on their skills and economic systems. The construction materials
invented with the Industrial Revolution enabled the construction of high and
large span buildings, which led to great transformations in architecture and
urbanization.
There is need for research on why resilient traditional constructions and
textures, which are ecologically acceptable in terms of their effect on nature and
have survived for years. This is especially important for determining the criteria
for sustainable construction. It is known that in many of these buildings, local
materials which can be considered eco-friendly are utilized, and environmental
data are taken into consideration in their design (Güleç Korumaz, Canan and
Korumaz 2014; Ulukavak Harputlugil and Çetintürk 2005).
In this context, analysis of the physical evolution of the historical settlements
in Anatolia that have lived up to date and their governmental methods will lead
to a functional life style that can meet human needs and that are completely
human centered. The roads, settlement blocks, the morphology of squares,
and the orientation of residential units, which make up the settlement
texture, develop gradually, usually without intentional design, based on the
neighborhood relations, depending on natural conditions determined by
the topography. Traditional residences are not only living spaces, but also
production areas that have contributed financially to cities up to current
industrial age. By doing so, they have maintained their existence in medium
scaled cities in Anatolia (Esin, Aydın and Başarık, 2013; Aydın, 2007).
The first planning of Anatolian cities and the first decisions on settlements
were made through close analysis of the climate, land and economic conditions

11 Journal of Environment, Urbanization and Climate