The effects of gentrification on the conservation of historical environments: The case of Alaçatı

Traditional settlements are historical areas with unique pattern characteristics and socio-cultural values. The conservation activities carried out in such environments must take into consideration all social classes and layers in the society and must observe internationally established protection principles. However, when cities are only seen as areas for capital investment and profiteering, this will constitute an obstacle to the implementation of correct conservation approaches. As a result, historic settlements are not able to integrate with the market capital investment processes and either end up being run-down places or subject to gentrification due to their unique position and authenticity. This study investigates the effect of transformational processes, introduced by gentrification, to the conservation efforts of historical areas. The Alaçatı neighbourhood in Çeşme district of İzmir is chosen as the environment for this study. With the rise of the tourism sector, in Alaçatı the effects of the gentrification to the preservation of the historical areas and their historical texture, have been investigated by many spatial and socio-economic analyses. In this study also the restoration works of traditional buildings, their spatial growth and the changes in their land usage characteristics are compared across different points in time. The literature on historical conservation and gentrification has been discussed within the framework of the thesis and the results were evaluated together with field analyses. As a result, the process must be defined as gentrification and it has been determined that gentrification has important effects on spatial and social texture of Alaçatı. In parallel with these findings, it was also observed that historical area restoration works affected the transformation experienced by the settlement and were not done in accordance with the protection principles and criteria determined in international best practices. In the conclusion of the study, the measures that can be taken in order to eliminate the negative effects of the process and how to implement the correct protection and conservation practices for the historical areas are discussed. This study, starting from Alaçatı, aims to investigate the effects of gentrification on historical areas and their historical fabric, and contribute to the literature by discussing the measures to be taken.