The effects of tourism based restructing on urban space in the post 2000 period: The case of Alacati urban conservation site

At the beginning of the 1980s, along with the effects of neo-liberal policies on the economic area in the world, inter-sectorial competition and entrepreneurship have increased and begun to show their effects in our country, as well. Thus with the changes in the production type, economic structure has begun to change, and a new process has started with capital based investments that replaced the policies on labor power. This process changed not only the economy, but also the spatial and social structure of the city. Tourism is one of the sectors which has taken its place in the economic area since 1980's. This sector has begun to reveal itself in urban areas together with international and national policies and increasing financial inputs in the world as well as in Turkey and brought about significant impacts regarding the urban space. Alaçatı, which has entered into a new tourism-based restructuring process, has become one of the most popular tourist destinations of the country in a short period of time. Alaçatı, one of the settlements with historical and cultural heritage in Turkey, has made a name of not just coastal treasures but also its historical pattern after 2000. However, in recent years, along with the increase of tourism sector, land use of the buildings in the historical settlement has changed rapidly and in an uncontrolled way. This study aims at identifying how the urban space is affected by the integration with tourism through putting forward the land use changes of the buildings that exist in the urban conservation area in different periods and developing strategies for the sustainable development of the settlement with its buildings and citizens.