Examining the morphological change of Aksaray city center

As a result of both local and universal values that societies have created over centuries, cities have been open to development and change. Cities are important and valuable living spaces due to the natural, cultural and social layers they have hosted throughout history. In recent years, the emergence of new sub-centers along with the continuous expansion of urban areas, in addition to the increase in population in cities, has led to a decrease in the functional and symbolic values of traditional city centers; this situation has caused a reduction in the spatial quality in the regions in question. However, the qualified and livable preservation of historical city centers makes significant contributions to the development of belonging by city residents, the maintenance of urban memory and the establishment of a holistic relationship between individuals and the city. Within the scope of this study, the aim is to analyze the morphological changes and development of Aksaray, which gained provincial status in 1989, over time. The Center-1 region was selected as the study area, which was determined within the scope of the zoning plan studies carried out in 2012 and includes the traditional city center and central business districts of Aksaray. The Center-1 region is limited to Cumhuriyet Boulevard in the north, Atatürk Boulevard in the south and the E90 Highway in the west, and covers the areas on both banks of Uluırmak. In the study, a literature review was first conducted regarding urban morphology in the context of the spatial relationship with the city. Subsequently, how urban morphological approaches diversified in terms of their relationship with the city and studies conducted on the historical past of Aksaray city center were examined. The field study aimed to establish the urban morphology of Aksaray, which has an important position historically and geographically, on a mathematical basis through the values of connectivity, integration, intelligibility and choice in the region determined between 1989, when it became a province, and 2024, using the Space Syntax method. In the second part of the field study, the sub-regions where the morphological changes were most intense from the Center-1 region of the Aksaray city center were determined, and the typomorphological analyses of these regions were examined based on roads, parcels, and structures. As a result of the examination and analysis, it was determined that the area covering Aksaray Castle continued to be the city center after becoming a province, but its urban potential decreased. Especially analytical values were high in the streets extending from Atatürk Boulevard, which borders the south of the study area, to the city center. It was determined that the spatial environments located on the city's strong axes have experienced functional changes as typomorphology, and some structures have disappeared in places. In line with the plans made since the 2000s, it was concluded that the growth direction of the city changed, and new spatial structures were formed in the west.