Gökçe Uzgören Attended the 9th Turkey Urban Planning Congress with a Paper

Gökçe Uzgören, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Faculty of Fine Arts, Istanbul Gelisim University, with the paper titled "Socio-Spatial Effects of Touristicization in Historical City Centers: The Example of Istanbul Beyoğlu", written with Asuman Türkün, as part of the 45th Urban Planning Colloquium, in partnership with Yıldız Technical University and TMMOB Chamber of City Planners. Participated in the 9th Turkey Urban Planning Congress organized by A total of 10 sessions, various thematic presentations and panels were held at the congress, which was held with the theme of "Accumulation, Ground and Horizon of Planning" between 6-10 November 2021. Some excerpts from the abstract presented in the "Urban Politics and Space" session, the 6th session of the congress, are given below:
 
“This paper focuses on the socio-spatial changes caused by the phenomenon of “touristicization” experienced in historical city centers after the 1980s and the effects of these changes on the habits of using the space of different groups. In this study, an evaluation of the socio-spatial transformations of Beyoğlu, one of the most important historical centers of Istanbul, in the process of transition from an ecosystem created by functions such as trade, manufacturing, art-culture, food-beverage-entertainment to a structure based largely on urban tourism. made and some predictions have been tried to be put forward from today to the future. The paper is based on the data obtained within the scope of the Research Project (117K317) titled "Decisive Factors and Possible Scenarios in the Restructuring of Historical City Centers: The Case of Istanbul Beyoğlu" supported by TUBITAK and completed in March 2021. The research project aimed to understand the transformations Beyoğlu went through from the Tanzimat period to the present and to analyze this long history by periodizing it, revealing the important dynamics that constitute the context of each period. Like Istanbul, Beyoğlu has been the scene of important economic, social and spatial changes since the 19th century, and important breaking points that accelerate these changes can be identified. Starting from these breaking points, the transformation of Beyoğlu was analyzed by dividing it into six periods. Each period shows unique characteristics with the combination of economic, political, ideological and social dynamics from different scales and dynamics unique to Beyoğlu. The breaking points separating the periods indicate a break; however, it has been seen in the research that some basic features and dynamics unique to Beyoğlu provide continuity. While these ruptures usually occur as a result of decisions made from the top and determined visions, it is the dynamics that establish and maintain daily life in Beyoğlu that create continuity. In the paper, the period after 1980 was discussed and the phenomenon of "touristicization" was opened to discussion. The changes created by the urban tourism sector, which has increased its importance with the neoliberal urban policies that have come to the fore since the 1980s, in the historical city center, the new opportunities and emerging problems brought by the touristicization of Beyoğlu, and finally the corrosive effects of the Covid-19 epidemic in this region in 2020. ”
 
  We congratulate Gökçe Uzgören and wish her continued success.