Silhouette based study of the urban landscape changes in Istanbul

Throughout the history, within the areas that is dominated by the natural landscape, cultural landscapes have developed as a result of the emerging urbanization concept and anthropogenic changes related to this. Urban landscape is an ongoing and changing process with different needs and impacts and has developed as a product of these cultural interactions. Since the early civilizations, urban landscape has been changing, both in a positive and negative way, with the changes in living conditions or economic and political developments. Today, some the most important impacts on the changes within the urban landscape are the liberal economic structure, demographic changes and the globalization. Especially in historical cities like Istanbul, this change has been a problem more than a development.Within the historical process, there has been various dynamics that have contributed and changed the urban landscape of Istanbul, a city that has been home for many civilizations. The aim of this thesis titled as, ?Silhouette Based Study of the Urban Landscape Changes in Istanbul?, is to document the process of the urban landscape changes in Istanbul by exploring the written sources about the silhouettes as well as the old visuals, and to evaluate the effects of the physical changes on the urban landscape that emerged as a result of the liberal economic system, demographic changes and the globalizations concerns since 1980?s, by referring to today?s silhouettes that represent the most radical changes. These changes will be evaluated within the urban image theory in this study.The thesis consists five chapters. In the first chapter, literature review and the aim and the findings of the study are mentioned.In the second chapter, the conceptual framework of the thesis is formed. The urban landscape concept and its constituent elements are defined, the relation between the urban identity and urban image is emphasized, and silhouette analysis as a part of urban landscape analysis method as well as silhouette is defined.In the third part of the thesis, the urban landscape of Istanbul, within the natural and cultural landscape, is evaluated with a general perspective. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the history of the urban landscape structure of Istanbul is divided into three historical periods; pre-Republican period, the Republican period until 1980, and post-1980 period until today. In the context of the dynamics effective during these periods, the characteristics of silhouettes are analyzed.In the fourth part of the thesis, the post-1980 period, during which the changes are reflected on the silhouettes most, is analyzed with special attention to the factors that affected the changing process, the silhouette characteristics of the time period are presented, and the influence urban landscape on natural landscape is evaluated. The image contents of the studies area is analyzed based on ?urban image theory? and with an urban landscape architecture perspective.In the concluding part, the conclusions established throughout the thesis, and the conclusions made from the visual researches and analyses are evaluated together.Keywords: Urban landscape, silhouette, urban image, Istanbul and silhouette.