Kayserı̇'nı̇n 'Yillı̇'lerı̇nı̇n konut kültürü: Habitus temellı̇ bir çalışma

This study explores the spatial practices of the yilli (local) community in Kayseri through the perspective of identity and belonging, focusing on how housing shapes urban affiliation and social identity. Rather than treating housing as a purely physical structure, it is approached as a spatial framework through which cultural continuity, social ties, and a sense of belonging are materially articulated. The analysis adopts a multi-scalar approach—from the city level to the interior of the house—examining how yilli families organise domestic space according to culturally inherited dispositions. Grounded in Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus, the study investigates how historically shaped practices and values are embedded in everyday spatial arrangements. In this framework, being yilli is not simply defined by genealogy or neighbourhood origin. Still, it emerges as a socially situated identity, reproduced through housing choices, neighbourhood affiliation, and intergenerational cultural transmission. These dynamics manifest in daily routines, privacy norms, and aesthetic preferences. Methodologically, the research relies on qualitative tools such as oral history, ethnographic observation, spatial mapping, and thematic analysis. Interviews with participants from multiple generations reveal how the shift from traditional houses to modern apartments reflects adaptation and cultural persistence. These transformations are interpreted not as technical changes, but as socially embedded processes. The study offers a culturally grounded framework for understanding how locality, identity, and urban memory are reproduced through housing within broader urban transformation processes.