The effect of local dynamics on contextual gentrification research: Nevşehir- Uçhisar town

The thesis was created with the aim of revealing a different perspective by examining the concept of gentrification, which has been the subject of mostly sociology, in the architectural discipline. It is shown that gentrification, which has been the subject of many empirical studies without going beyond its classical definition and focused mostly on its results, is actually a concept that varies with the dynamics of the place and needs to be developed in accordance with the context of the place. While doing this, a gentrification relationship has been established with the 'tourism' component, which causes different processes in different regions as a local dynamic, and analyzes and evaluations have been made over an area where these two basic components can exist. As the sampling area, Uçhisar town of Nevşehir, which has rich local dynamics with its historical and cultural values, has undergone physical / functional renewal and is still in the process of change, where the rural development strategy can be read. While investigating the triggering or resilient effect of the local dynamics of Uçhisar on gentrification, the physical change resulting from the transformation of tourism into an active role throughout the town has been analyzed. As a result of this analysis, the cycle between physical change and gentrification has been evaluated. In particular, the transformed spaces in the town, which underwent the physical renewal process by transforming from residences to accommodation units, were examined and interviews were made with the architects and operators involved in the design processes about the renewal process. On the other hand, the effect of gentrification on social transformation was evaluated through interviews with residents who still use residences which are among the accommodation units in the selected region. In the study, many local dynamics affecting both the physical and social change process of Uçhisar were determined and it was revealed that some of them supported the gentrification process and some showed resistance. Here, it is concluded that gentrification is not an irresistible strategy for the city and parts of the city and that it can resist to its negative consequences with the sensitivity shown in the development processes, and the concept of "contextual gentrification" has been revealed.