The transformation of house types in Istanbul in relation to the socio-cultural changes

Abstract

Paper presented at the XXXIII IAHS World Congress on Housing, 27-30 September 2005,"Transforming Housing Environments through Design", University of Pretoria.

The house types differentiate at successive social periods. This is the evidence of the transformation in social structures, economic status and the political approaches. In this sense, the diachronic examinations can reveal the interrelation between changing housing types and social formations. The housing reserve and the house ownership relations in Istanbul changed considerably within a century. The population of the city increased. There are a large number of people who need to have houses in proper environmental conditions. For the sake of finding solutions the authorities modify the regulations and try to appropriate the rights into the contemporary conditions. However the contractors’ eagerness to earn more results in use of the utmost space. In this way the citizens get the opportunity of owning a house but the spatial quality both in and outside of the houses diminishes. In this paper the diachronic relations between residential buildings and social structures will be evaluated. The housing types built in Kadikoy, one of the districts of the city that holds a significant number of housing settlements will be scrutinized. The purpose of this paper is to argue on differentiating housing types in relation to socio-cultural changes and to scrutinize the coexisting housing types and the resulting plurality pertaining to form in the contemporary city.