A user-oriented urban design guide model for cultural heritage sites: The case of Bursa Khans Area

Abstract

The Khans Area, located in Bursa - the first capital of the Ottoman Empire - has reached today, preserving its historical urban character with its changing and developing trade life, and was inscribed as a cultural heritage site by UNESCO in 2014. Bursa and Cumalikizik Management Plan, which was prepared with a participatory method, presented many problems and expectations about cultural heritage sites, and suggested action plans for their solutions. One of the most important problems emphasized in the Management Plan was the weakening of the original identity of heritage sites due to the lack of urban design principles and standarts in heritage sites, and the development of urban design guides for the management sites was proposed as a solution. The scientific research project entitled An Urban Design Guide Model for Bursa City Center" in Bursa Uludag University took this aim into consideration; however, it became clear that describing the process of preparing an urban design guide for cultural heritage sites should precede the process of producing an urban design guide peculiar to the area. In this article, a user-oriented urban design guide model for cultural heritage sites as a planning/design tool in the conservation and development of cultural heritage sites is discussed. The model is developed with the help of systematic approaches of urban design process and community engagement methods in academic literature in terms of a case study including analyses, user surveys, tradesmen interviews and an urban design workshop conducted in the Bursa Khans Area. This model, which considers interdisciplinary and inter-institutional perspectives and local participation, is expected to assist relevant institutions and professionals in the development of urban design guidelines for cultural heritage sites.

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