Examination of traditional buildings in the context of adaptation to the urban ecosystem. Kastamonu urban site area example

Kastamonu City has a rich cultural heritage as it has hosted many different civilizations from prehistoric times to the present. The city, which has managed to carry this heritage to the present day, contains traditional settlement areas and urban image elements that vary in terms of both cultural and natural potential. Valuable examples of historic buildings from different periods (Paphlagonia, Byzantine, Çobanoğulları, Candaroğulları, Ottoman, Republican Period) continue to exist in the city centre, which was developed around the Karaçomak Stream, which flows in the north-south direction through the middle of the slopes rising in the east-west direction. Kastamonu Urban Protected Area, which managed to become an important Anatolian city with these characteristics and was preferred as a research area, was examined under two main headings. Firstly, the structures that constitute the traditional textures in the urban protected area and the cultures, socio-economic situations, identities, beliefs, and social structures of the civilizations of the period in which they were built were evaluated. As a result of this evaluation, urban development and design criteria, urban image elements and traditional textures were revealed. In the second stage, the urban ecosystem was examined through topography, climate and land cover components, which also play a major role in shaping traditional textures. After evaluating the effects of topography, which is the main factor shaping urban development, on traditional buildings, the dynamics affecting today's Kastamonu urban ecosystem have been revealed through the artificial topography that has occurred depending on the current construction density. Artificial topography was subjected to multi-criteria risk analysis through slope, aspect and elevation criteria; Insolation, land cover/land use classes were interpreted together with wind and precipitation components, and the city's development was discussed in line with these components. Comparing these main elements that shape today's urban ecosystem with the elements that are effective in forming traditional buildings has enabled important inferences to be made. The evaluations have concluded that the priorities in urbanization policies are not based on traditional indicators, that the natural-cultural image elements that form the urban identity are not given sufficient importance in building zoning regulations, and that the sustainability of the urban ecosystem and some elements that carry disaster risk are ignored. Finally, suggestions have been made to ensure that Kastamonu, an important Anatolian city that has been able to carry its cultural heritage to the present day, can be transferred to future generations by taking inspiration from its traditional structures.