Historic Landscape vs. Urban Commodity?: The Case of Yedikule Urban Gardens, Istanbul

Abstract

Urban gardens are formed by a historical accumulation of and inter-relationships among the natural, social and economic dynamics. Standing at the interface of urban and rural, they are significant urban areas providing important societal and psychological benefits for societies beyond their explicit environmental and ecological values. They also have the potential of refurbishing collectivity within communities through urban farming and agricultural production. However, these rare characteristics also make them one of the most vulnerable sections of cities today that they have been threatened with the recent and irrepressible growth of urban areas. Urban gardens in the city of İstanbul face the challenges of cultural conservation, economic development and social inclusion in recent decades as well. Hence, they are a pertinent example to the hardships in sustaining urban gardens in the phase of the urban growth. This study focuses particularly on Yedikule Urban Gardens in Istanbul by underlining both the 'destruction' and 'development' sides of the story in physical, natural, economic and social contexts of change. The paper proposes a 'new' planning and conservation process for the urban gardens of Istanbul. This will provide a framework for the integration of urban farming, rural production, conservation of cultural and productive landscapes and farming activities into the changing urban environments in general. This concern is also present an introductory discussion for the significance of urban green commons in Turkey.

Keywords

• urban garden
• change
• yedikule urban gardens
• istanbul.