Neighborhood and communication in the earthquake process as a decadenzy case (An empirical research specific to Malatya province)

Social and communal relations have a dynamic structure that can be restructured through the attitudes and solidarity practices that people show in crisis situations such as earthquakes. Large-scale crises such as natural disasters make the visibility and quality of these social relations more visible. Neighborhood stands out as an area where social solidarity is experienced the most in crisis situations such as natural disasters. However, increasing individualization with modernization has also brought the risk of disintegration in neighborhood relations, which are traditional forms of solidarity, due to social alienation and insecurity. Earthquakes deeply affect not only physical structures but also social relations, leading to major changes in the lives of individuals. The earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023 in Turkey caused not only physical destruction, but also deep destruction at psychological, sociological and cultural levels. The earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş in Türkiye caused significant changes both in the daily lives of individuals and in the structure of social ties. The neighborhoods established by earthquake victims in newly established living spaces (such as container cities) during the earthquake process are an important context in which the functionality of social support mechanisms can be tested. The main problem of the study is how neighborhood relations change and take shape after the earthquake, whether there is a social and societal disintegration (decadence) in these relations, and the effects of communication tools in this process. This study investigates the continuity of social values, the functionality of cooperation and solidarity practices, spiritual resilience and the existence of traditional values in the effects of communication channels on social ties in modern social structures during periods of crisis. The research adopted a qualitative approach and was conducted using a semi-structured interview technique. The sample consisted of 12 individuals with different socio-economic characteristics living in container cities in Malatya. The interviews were conducted to understand the individuals' experiences after the earthquake and to analyze in depth the changes in neighborhood relations. The theoretical framework of the study is built on Nietzsche's concept of "decadence" (decadence/degeneration) and Emile Durkheim's social solidarity approaches, which are mechanical and organic solidarity foundations, and the transformation in neighborly relations, which is an indicator of the change in social values, is analyzed with the phenomenological approach towards neighborhood relations and communications after the earthquake. The main purpose of this study is to try to reveal the experiences of individuals in the new living spaces in the container cities established after the earthquake, the psychological, social, cultural and societal reflections of the experiences gained, by phenomenologically examining the changes and transformations in neighborhood relations that constitute the social environment of people after disasters such as earthquakes through participant experiences. The findings are divided into units of meaning, themes, categories and codes are created and social experiences are explained within the framework of their originality. According to the participant statements, it has been observed that neighborhood is sometimes reinterpreted with cooperation and solidarity; sometimes it is observed that there are decadence (collapse) effects in situations such as insecurity, miscommunication and social isolation. In line with the findings obtained as a result of the research, in neighborhood relations in container cities established after the earthquake; While it contains the potential to restructure solidarity, trust and belonging, it has also been found that it contains non-permanent trust problems and dissolutions in social areas.