Urban cultural heritage sites as a place of memory in the construction of a sense of place in Bursa

The historical texture in the city is an important area in the construction of a sense of place as well as its urban identity that distinguishes one area from others. Because there is an emotional bond between urban cultural heritage and society. This connection is associated with the concept of sense of place. This study was carried out in the Hisar Region, also known as Kaleiçi, which is located in the historical city center of Bursa. In the study, firstly, the importance of these places within the urban cultural heritage areas and research area in Bursa Hisar Region was revealed, and then these areas were evaluated in the context of sense of place. In this case, the differentiation in the relations between the historical environment in the Hisar Region and the effect of unplanned urbanization and the environment that has lost its historical feature is examined. The concept of sense of place in the study; place identity is treated as an umbrella concept to cover place commitment and place connectedness. In the study, both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used with mixed method. Accordingly, surveys, scale studies and in-depth interviews were conducted to local people, employees and visitors groups within the research area. While the data were analyzed with SPSS and Maxqda programs, qualitative data were transferred through descriptive analysis. In this way, the sub-components of the sense of place are considered as functional, emotional and cognitive attachment to the place. As a result, it is seen that people increase the use of historical buildings when they are given functionality and prefer historical buildings or environments when an alternative place is formed. In addition, the presence of a neighborhood's historical feature brings with it the old neighborhood culture and neighborliness understanding. It is understood that social contexts are more important than spatial features in the commitment of people to the place. In addition, the fact that people have a place of residence and that their family and friends live in the same area strengthens the sense of place for that place. Concepts such as identity and culture attributed to historical structures increase the attachment on these structures. The change or loss of the physical space in historical environments weakens people's sense of place towards this place.