Examining the continuity of collective memory in urban space: The balat district example

Cities are living spaces shaped by the traces of different societies over centuries, harboring a shared memory passed down from the past to the present. These traces, resulting from the migration of human communities over time, their interactions with different cultures, and their relationships with the environment, accumulate in the memory of cities, forming the identity of the space. This accumulation gains meaning not only through physical elements but also through people's experiences, daily life practices, emotional worlds, and social relationships. Collective memory represents a much broader structure than individual memories, determining societies' connections to the past, their perceptions of the future, and their identity formation processes. The traces accumulated by a space over time, combined with the life experiences of the people living in that space, create a sense of belonging at both individual and societal levels. Therefore, every street, building, square, or social interaction area within a city is part of a layer of memory that both recalls the past and shapes the present and future. These layers, accumulated within historical continuity, reveal that a space can be read not only in a physical context but also in an emotional and social context. Spaces transform into dynamic areas that house people's life stories, where memories are reproduced, and social identities are shaped. Therefore, collective memory is considered a fundamental value that must be preserved, understood, and sustainably transmitted to future generations during the transformation processes of cities. This study aims to analyze this interaction in the Balat example, revealing through which elements collective memory is maintained in space, which interventions cause ruptures, and how these ruptures affect the identity of the space. Thus, the research offers a holistic and explanatory assessment of the preservation of urban memory and the understanding of transformation processes.