Rural and urban change dynamics: The Case of Döşemealti in Antalya

With the rapid population growth in cities and the concept of "social distance" that the pandemic has placed at the center of our lives, the meanings attributed to the concepts of rural-urban have also changed. New debates have begun about the unattractiveness of the countryside and the attractiveness of the city. Cities that used to have attractive features with their employment, education, health and social opportunities have recently turned into places where uncertainties are intense and increase the anxiety levels of individuals. In this process, rural areas began to be seen as more attractive than cities. With the development of technology, there has been an increase in internet usage in the digitalizing world. The widespread use of internet access has increased the opportunities for "home office/working from home" and rural areas have turned into places that meet the idyllic life desire of the new middle class. The new middle class, who wanted to get away from the crowded life of the city, bought rural areas and built detached houses and villas on these lands. Thus, the spatial structure of the region began to change, especially with the capital owners, and then the ownership change occurred as agricultural lands became rent. The new middle class migrating from cities to rural areas brought about a socioeconomic and sociocultural change in the countryside by bringing daily consumption practices to village life. Döşemealtı is a district very close to the center of Antalya. Döşemealtı, which has both urban and rural characteristics, is home to local people and later settlers. Therefore, there is a Döşemealtı that cannot fully preserve its rural characteristics and has become urbanized with the settlement of different socioeconomic profiles, and a rural Döşemealtı that is away from the dense and complex structure of the city, has natural beauties and is populated by local people. The research aims to analyze the rural and urban change dynamics experienced by Döşemealtı through the relationship between the new middle class migrating to rural areas for various reasons and the local people residing in the region. Qualitative research method was used in the study and data was collected by in-depth interview technique. The field research was conducted in Döşemealtı district of Antalya between February and April 2023 with the participation of a total of 40 interviewees. In the research using the phenomenology design, the data were analyzed with the descriptive analysis method in line with the themes and categories created. In this study, which will examine thedynamics of change from rural to urban in Döşemealtı, it is expected to contribute to the literature by sociologically analyzing this transformation in the countryside from the perspective of both the local people and the new middle class that settled in the region later. Keywords: Rural Areas, Urbanization, Counterurbanization, Agricultural Production, Döşemealtı, Phenomenology.