The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between the ownership issues and the conservation of historical housing areas, which is still an ongoing problem in Turkey. The study was carried out with respect to the local and international conservation approaches, as well as three urban conservation experiments from Turkey and Italy. Istanbul - Zeyrek World Heritage Area was taken as a case study to understand further on the issue. Approaches of international authorities on urban conservation such as UNESCO and European Council, and existing conservation legislation in Turkey were studied in relation with the concept of ownership and integration of property owners into the conservation process. Besides, recent changes in Turkish conservation legislation were studied and criticized from the same perspective. Three urban conservation experiences, &ldquo / Renovation of the Historic Center of the City of Bologna&rdquo / from Italy, &ldquo / Rehabilitation of Fener and Balat Districts Programme&rdquo / and &ldquo / TarlabaSi Urban Renewal Project&rdquo / from Istanbul Turkey were also studied within the frame of this study. These practices supplied information about how property owners&rsquo / integration into the process effects conservation of urban environments, from three different perspectives. Zeyrek World Heritage Area is a conservation area with monumental buildings from Byzantine Period and timber houses from Ottoman Period. Although many conservation plans concerning the area has been prepared, historical building stock of the area is in danger. Conservation problems and opportunities of the area were investigated by analysis and social and economic research in the area. At the end of the study, with reference to the experiences discussed, it was emphasized that Zeyrek World Heritage Area could be conserved, with an approach considering property owners within existing social and economic conditions of Zeyrek and current conservation legislation.

What makes Istanbul special and unique, is not its beauty, but the memories, the good and the bad of people who once lived there and were forced to leave for different reasons. This is something that people could realize as soon as they visit Istanbul and talk to the remaining minority populations who have faced bigotry, prejudice and persecution. Those have kept alive the real meaning of this metropolis. It is the multicultural and cosmopolitan character and especially the religious pluralism and diversity which still manages somehow to survive and characterizes the city and life in it, making it unique and offering a perfect symbolism since Turkey and especially Istanbul has become a significant mediator between the West and the East. Even though the figures have been dramatically changed and decreased, the city has retained some of its multicultural character, and still hosts some of the most important religious institutions. This is the main theme of this thesis, the history, the problems and the panorama of the life in the multicultural Istanbul. It is an overall view on different areas where population from different religious and cultural backgrounds co-existed for years and have a great historic meaning. The mahalles that will be examined in this study are those of Fener, Balat, and Ortakoy from the European side and Kuzguncuk from the Asian one. This thesis will try to highlight the main events which led to the alienation and the shrinkage of the religious populations in Istanbul, and will present a report on the current situation and projects which promote the religious diversity and aim to restore, partly, the glory of the multicultural past. Why nationalism prevailed and how did its predominance affect the multicultural Istanbul? What is the current situation in the neighborhoods which used to or still host populations from different religious backgrounds, and how do the recent cultural initiatives aim to bridge the gap that hatred and policies created?

This project aims to analyze the existing context and propose a strategy to revitalize Fener and Balat, which are two historic districts in Istanbul. During the past two centuries, economic changes, modernization movements and new planning strategies throughout the country have given the city a new shape. Individual buildings, streets, and entire sub-districts exist in various stages of disrepair. But today, Fener and Balat still preserve their distinctive character in their historic major structures, as well as historic commercial and residential districts. This unique character can be seen the districts' assets which are documented in this project along with the many liabilities. This revitalization project focuses on restoring and preserving the human-scaled buildings and pedestrian oriented streets, while creating cultural and tourist-oriented facilities to help economically revitalize the neighborhood. This project serves as a prototype for the revitalization of other historic neighborhoods in Istanbul and other historic Turkish cities. / Department of Architecture

Gentrification emerged as a middle-class interest in renovating houses in old city cores. The process changed in parallel with the economic and political restructuring during the last decade. In this period, urban regeneration became an urban strategy used by the local governments as well as a mask for gentrification. It aimed at restructuring the urban land in line with the preferences of wealthier groups rather than the social needs of existing residents. The governments intend to remove poor images of cities through the displacement of poor inhabitants. This, in turn, increases the risk of dilapidating the authenticity of the existing social, cultural, and historic fabric of the regeneration areas. Against this trend, international conservation agencies promote rehabilitation projects to benefit existing communities of historic neighborhoods. In line with the international declarations, they intend to rehabilitate socio-economic conditions of long term inhabitants along with the conservation of historic heritage. Accordingly, the unique architecture of Fener and Balat neighborhoods has been the focus of international efforts during the last decade. Besides, the neighborhoods attracted the local governments&rsquo / interest and were declared as urban regeneration area in 2006. In this regard, thesis intends to compare Rehabilitation of Fener Balat Districts Program (RFBDP) based on the partnership of Fatih Municipality and EU and Fener Balat Neighborhoods Regeneration Project (FBNRP) based on a model of Fatih Municipality and private sector partnership, with a focus on conserving existing communities and preventing displacement.