UNDERSTANDING URBAN PHYSICAL TRANSFORMATION IN ITS BASIC Self Organizing and Spatial Planning YTU Faculty of Architecture Istanbul April 2011 Mehmet Rıfat AKBULUT Asist. Prof., Ph.D. Faculty of Architecture, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Seher BAŞLIK Asist. Prof., Ph.D Department of Informatics, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Fındıklı-Beyoğlu İstanbul-TURKEY

The determination of the nature and the speed of transformation of an urban settlement with an acceptable precision, instead of rough presumptions is always remained one of key issues in urban research and study. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

In urban planning and urban studies, urban spatial phenomenons are generally considered, discussed and explained under the dominance of broad generalisations based upon social, economical, cultural factors as well as about physical environment and conditions. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

To call cities as complex systems is easy since any urban structure obviously represent a high complexity perceivable in every aspect and in every meaning of the word. However this requires some efforts to prove it beyond casual observations. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

The aim of this work is to show where some particular behaviours of an urban system may be observed in order to uncover some characteristics of complexity and at which scale we should deal with it. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

Here, urban physical transformation on single building/land plot scale and change of property ownership are analyzed in time series in order to understand the way an urban system behaves on the scale of its basic physical elements. These are suitable tools to make such a research since they provide all necessary requirements, because they represent; repeating behaviours with relatively in short time arrays, a considerable amount of accurate datas enough big to follow trends in through time. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

This study is based upon analysis of randomly selected empirical datas of a neighbourhood (Caferağa Mahallesi) at the Kadıköy District of the Greater İstanbul Metropolitan Area. Datas are compiled from municipal archives of the Kadıköy. Parameters are as follows: Physical transformation: A transformation which affects entire or a major party of the physical status of a building on a plot such as the demolition of an existing structure and the erection of a new one or a major partial interference on the physical structure of a building such as an additional floor which significantly changes a building from its original plan and/or appearence. This is defined as the “physical change” through analysis. Ownership change: A change of the holder of the property through a selling-buying procedure. This is defined as “ownership change” within analysis. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

More than 1000 documents dating from 1940s to today of 44 properties at the Moda Caferağa neighbourhood (Mahalle) from Urban Archives of the Kadıköy District Municipality are analyzed. Among them a total of 195 documents are found important and 134 out of this 195 documents are took into consideration. Analysis within this research are made through these 134 documents. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

Analysis of datas shows that: The physical behaviour of a city as a complex system is only comprehensible through research and surveys on the level of its basic elements (buildings, land units etc.). Broad generalisations on macro scale offer only few clues and may be illusory to understand the real nature of urban physical transformation. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

What look like predictable on macro scale becomes unpredictable in details (on the level of building and land plot) However, the irregularity which is observed at the occurances of events (a new building licence, a process of ownership change) reveals a regularity in itself; Events tend to repeat the same type of behavioural pattern in every scale (neighbourhood, block, building/land plot) in terms of time arrays between each and every event. Periodical changes at the occurances of events (a new building licence, a process of ownership change) through time are in many cases independent of general economic conditions or economic fluctuations; Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

On the other hand a close relationship or interaction is observed between periodical changes at the occurances of events and change in building construction rights and urban planning activities; Therefore, periodical changes at the occurances of events are more dependent to building construction rights and urban planning activities than general economic conditions or fluctuations at least for the analyzed case. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

Analysis of datas reveals that the change of an urban physical environment at the level/scale of its basic elements illustrates general characteristics of chaos since it displays major footprints of chaotic behaviour namely; Unpredictability at every single moment of time span; Repeatition of the same behavioural pattern at every scale (scalelessness); Sensitive dependence on initial conditions, since every observed event is in interaction with others and each event has some influence on the time the next event will occur. Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011

In mathematics and in generally in natural sciences a system is called chaotic as much as it assures the conditions below: If it is mathematically deterministic If it is mathematically nonlineer If general characteristics of a system repeat itself in every scale (scalessness) Akbulut-Başlık-Understanding Urban Physical Transformation in its Basic Self Organizing and Spatial Planning-YTU-Istanbul April 2011