Page 221 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 4

Sezayi Köse - Zeynep Ayan - Ebru Vural
Kübra Özcivan - Yeşim Koçdemir

encountered in practice. Although many regulations and amendments
have been made in legal and managerial terms regarding the earthquakes
after 1999 it is still seen that unhealthy construction continues after these
regulations, and it is not enough alone to prevent /reduce the effects of a
possible earthquake in the whole city of İstanbul, where the transformation is
ongoing and 1.5 million independent units that need to be transformed are at
risk (www.csb.gov.tr, 2023).
This study examines the spatial development process of İstanbul as well
as the legal and managerial dimension of urban transformation, which is
one of the tools applied to eliminate the devastating impact of earthquakes
that are the geological dimension of natural disasters, on cities, especially
the phenomenon of urban transformation as a disaster response tool along
with Law No. 6306, which entered into force for the first time in 2012. The
phenomenon of urban transformation will be related to the earthquakes
occurring in our country; evaluations and suggestions will be made about the
problems encountered in the urban transformation projects carried out for
İstanbul that is prepared for an earthquake.

2. Spatial Development Profile of İstanbul

Cities have been in a constant state of change and transformation depending
on various dynamics such as economic, political, social, technological etc. from
their emergence to this day. Especially in major cities, the reflections of this
dynamic structure on urban space are more perceivable. İstanbul has been
one of the metropolises which has been affected by the social and structural
transformation process of each period from past to the present and where this
situation has been reflected in the urban space.
İstanbul, a large and ancient city inhabited by people with different cultures
and influenced by different ethnic cultures, has shaped itself with user
demands by reflecting the economic, social, cultural and political changes it
has experienced in each period from the day it emerged to the present day
(Özker, 2020:620).

2.1. The Period Before 1923
Since the beginning of 19th century, İstanbul has been the subject of reform
movements based on the contemporary practices in European cities and the
developments in the West aimed at transforming the city completely, and it
was targeted to establish a new city with these reforms implemented in order
to modernize the urban space (Bilsel, 2015:496).

210 The Journal of Environment, Urban and Climate