**4. Bursa as a historic city and an industrial center**

Bursa is one of the most important Anatolian cities which comprises the oldest and most authentic examples of monumental and civil architecture and which combines rich tradition, culture, history and nature at the same time. It is a valuable city shaped by a rich cultural heritage and succeeds to reach our times without losing its importance. In the south of the Eastern Marmara, Bursa has been one of the oldest settlements in Anatolia and the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, due to its geographical location, agricultural convenience of its natural structure and its importance from military point of view. Today, being the fourth biggest city of Turkey, Bursa is economically very dynamic and has been undergoing a rapid industrialization and urbanization process. It has one of Turkey's highest population increase rate as a result of its being a focus of large inner and outer immigration. There has been a huge migration from other regions as well as from Balkanic countries since 1950s. For these reasons, unfortunately, the unique historic identity of Bursa has suffered a lot, however the city is still withstanding the onset of rapid urbanization (fig.1).

Fig. 1. Bursa in Turkey

### **4.1 Urban development process in Bursa**

Today, landscape of Bursa is composed of diverse civilizations. The societies governing the region during history have left important cultural heritage. Each civilization trying to establish its sovereignty has also been influenced by existing social and cultural structure of the region. The "cultural synthesis" that forms the city culture is more dominant in Bursa than most of the other Anatolian cities. When the city is examined in terms of historical and social aspects of the cultural evolution, the traces of six periods can be seen. These are; the Prehistorical Period, the Hellenistic Period - including the Aegean migrations and the Persian Hegemony, and The Bithynia Kingdom, The Roman Period, The Byzantine Period, The Ottoman Period and The Republican Period (Anc. of Bursa,1984),(Süel,1996).

are applications that shift the urban population to the periphery of cities and have common administrative and maintenance organizations. Unfortunately, most of these settlements don't have enough relations with the city center, but there is another fact that efforts for

Bursa is one of the most important Anatolian cities which comprises the oldest and most authentic examples of monumental and civil architecture and which combines rich tradition, culture, history and nature at the same time. It is a valuable city shaped by a rich cultural heritage and succeeds to reach our times without losing its importance. In the south of the Eastern Marmara, Bursa has been one of the oldest settlements in Anatolia and the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, due to its geographical location, agricultural convenience of its natural structure and its importance from military point of view. Today, being the fourth biggest city of Turkey, Bursa is economically very dynamic and has been undergoing a rapid industrialization and urbanization process. It has one of Turkey's highest population increase rate as a result of its being a focus of large inner and outer immigration. There has been a huge migration from other regions as well as from Balkanic countries since 1950s. For these reasons, unfortunately, the unique historic identity of Bursa has suffered a lot, however the city is still withstanding the onset of

Today, landscape of Bursa is composed of diverse civilizations. The societies governing the region during history have left important cultural heritage. Each civilization trying to establish its sovereignty has also been influenced by existing social and cultural structure of the region. The "cultural synthesis" that forms the city culture is more dominant in Bursa than most of the other Anatolian cities. When the city is examined in terms of historical and social aspects of the cultural evolution, the traces of six periods can be seen. These are; the Prehistorical Period, the Hellenistic Period - including the Aegean migrations and the Persian Hegemony, and The Bithynia Kingdom, The Roman Period, The Byzantine Period, The Ottoman Period and The Republican Period (Anc. of

developing infrastructure in this respect have gained impetuous.

**4. Bursa as a historic city and an industrial center** 

rapid urbanization (fig.1).

Fig. 1. Bursa in Turkey

Bursa,1984),(Süel,1996).

**4.1 Urban development process in Bursa** 

The facts that Bursa is located very near to Istanbul, which is an important world city, and that the trade roads have been organized accordingly have been an important factor in the historical evolution process of this city. Automotive and textile ranking first, Bursa is an important industrial city as well as an important international trade center. This situation caused an increased demand for the fertile agricultural fields in Bursa. In the light of these, it is thought that it will be necessary to summarize the processes of urban development and urban housing in Bursa.

Tekeli (1999) thinks that in order to understand the urban transformations experienced by this city and the influences thereof, first of all, the geographical location of the city should be studied. Bursa is located in the south of a fertile plain field, in the north terrace of the Great Mountain's [Mount Uludağ] skirt. Besides this natural structure, another important determinant character of the geographical location is the close distance between Bursa and İstanbul- the city which has conserved its world city properties for centuries. These conditions explain the formation of a pre-industrial city and its transformation to a larger trade center. Bursa became important thanks to silk production in 555 A.D. and has been taken by the Ottomans in 1326. The city has a castle of 800 m lenght in the east-west axis and 500 m width in the north-south axis, an inner castle comprising the palaces of the city governors and an "under castle" part in front of the eastern door which constitutes the main entrance of the city (fig.2).

Fig. 2. Bursa Castle and its near environment in 1921 Map (Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Archieves)

Tekeli (1999) has observed that the city has experienced three important structural changes by now. He briefly explains these changes as follows:

The Impact of Different Urban Housing Patterns on the

Sustainable Urban Development of a Historic City, Bursa/Turkey 189

Fig. 3. Examples of traditional houses in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)

the Republican Period (fig.4),

apartments, of which construction has started with the modernization movements of

 squatters (gecekondus), which have been constructed on the forbidden areas in the city periphery by immigrants with their own resources. They have been developed in time in accordance with their family needs and financial sources, as a result of the shortcomings in supplying the housing demands because of the internal and external migrations (fig.5),

Fig. 4. Examples of apartment blocks in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)


Tekeli (1999) highlights that the fate of Bursa is closely associated with five basic functions and locational specifications of the settlement. The first dimension is related to the central location of the city at the edge of a fertile plain and in the center of a rich agricultural hinterland. The second dimension involves the proximity of Bursa to a world city –İstanbul. The third dimension covers the functions of the city as a long distance trade center. The fourth dimension involves the function of the city as an industrial production center. The fifth dimension is related to leisure and theraphy functions due to the existence of thermal springs. All of these dimensions effected the housing stock of the city, therefore it is also necessary to clarify the developments experienced in housing regions, in order to clearly understand the urban transformation of the city. In the following section urban housing development process of Bursa is summarized.

## **4.2 Urban housing in Bursa**

At the beginning of the 21th century, the city is occupying a very large space. The expansion in the east-west direction is 30 km and in the north-south direction 16-17 km. The population is almost 2 million, in other words the city has reached metropolitan dimensions. The economical structure of the city is very dynamic and diverse. It reflects the problems of an industrial city, of which macroform has rapidly expanded. Tekeli (1999) explains the materialization of urban housing transformation in Bursa in two different ways. One of them is pulling down the existing city patterns and building rapidly new apartment-buildings instead. The second one is the expansion of the city borders by opening new areas for construction. Both of these two implementations has increased the accommodation capacity of the city. Today, we can mention about five main housing groups in Bursa, different from each other in terms of typology. Dostoğlu (2000) classified them as follows:

 traditional housing including most authentic examples of Ottoman civil architecture, which are found both in the center and near environment of the city (fig.3) ,




Tekeli (1999) highlights that the fate of Bursa is closely associated with five basic functions and locational specifications of the settlement. The first dimension is related to the central location of the city at the edge of a fertile plain and in the center of a rich agricultural hinterland. The second dimension involves the proximity of Bursa to a world city –İstanbul. The third dimension covers the functions of the city as a long distance trade center. The fourth dimension involves the function of the city as an industrial production center. The fifth dimension is related to leisure and theraphy functions due to the existence of thermal springs. All of these dimensions effected the housing stock of the city, therefore it is also necessary to clarify the developments experienced in housing regions, in order to clearly understand the urban transformation of the city. In the following section urban housing

At the beginning of the 21th century, the city is occupying a very large space. The expansion in the east-west direction is 30 km and in the north-south direction 16-17 km. The population is almost 2 million, in other words the city has reached metropolitan dimensions. The economical structure of the city is very dynamic and diverse. It reflects the problems of an industrial city, of which macroform has rapidly expanded. Tekeli (1999) explains the materialization of urban housing transformation in Bursa in two different ways. One of them is pulling down the existing city patterns and building rapidly new apartment-buildings instead. The second one is the expansion of the city borders by opening new areas for construction. Both of these two implementations has increased the accommodation capacity of the city. Today, we can mention about five main housing groups in Bursa, different from each other in terms of typology. Dostoğlu (2000)

traditional housing including most authentic examples of Ottoman civil architecture,

which are found both in the center and near environment of the city (fig.3) ,

the identity of the city.

(Tanyeli, 1999).

observed after 1970s in Bursa.

development process of Bursa is summarized.

**4.2 Urban housing in Bursa** 

classified them as follows:

Fig. 3. Examples of traditional houses in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)

 apartments, of which construction has started with the modernization movements of the Republican Period (fig.4),

Fig. 4. Examples of apartment blocks in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)

 squatters (gecekondus), which have been constructed on the forbidden areas in the city periphery by immigrants with their own resources. They have been developed in time in accordance with their family needs and financial sources, as a result of the shortcomings in supplying the housing demands because of the internal and external migrations (fig.5),

The Impact of Different Urban Housing Patterns on the

Sustainable Urban Development of a Historic City, Bursa/Turkey 191

 villas and luxury mass housing blocks which have developed as a result of the increased car ownership and nostalgia for a life with garden and are preferred by high

Unfortunately, in spite of several construction plans prepared and different propositions submitted for the housing problem as from the 1960's, 65% of the housing areas have been established illegally - as is the case with the other big cities. This situation shows that the planning effected only by market powers is not capable of inspecting the city development and in that sense market fails to solve the important problems of the city (Altaban, 1999). In

figure 8, the map showing the boundries of the metropolitan city in 1998 can be seen.

Fig. 8. Map of Bursa in 1998 (Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Archieves)

income groups in order to avoid the stress of urban life (fig.7).

Fig. 7. Examples of villas in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)

Fig. 5. Examples of squatter settlements(gecekondus) in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)

 social housing blocks which are built with the aim of solving the housing problem in 1950s as an alternative to squatter settlements (fig.6) ,

Fig. 6. Examples of social housing blocks in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)

Fig. 5. Examples of squatter settlements(gecekondus) in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)

1950s as an alternative to squatter settlements (fig.6) ,

Fig. 6. Examples of social housing blocks in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)

social housing blocks which are built with the aim of solving the housing problem in

 villas and luxury mass housing blocks which have developed as a result of the increased car ownership and nostalgia for a life with garden and are preferred by high income groups in order to avoid the stress of urban life (fig.7).

Fig. 7. Examples of villas in Bursa (A.I.Çahantimur archive)

Unfortunately, in spite of several construction plans prepared and different propositions submitted for the housing problem as from the 1960's, 65% of the housing areas have been established illegally - as is the case with the other big cities. This situation shows that the planning effected only by market powers is not capable of inspecting the city development and in that sense market fails to solve the important problems of the city (Altaban, 1999). In figure 8, the map showing the boundries of the metropolitan city in 1998 can be seen.

Fig. 8. Map of Bursa in 1998 (Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Archieves)

The Impact of Different Urban Housing Patterns on the

houses in the northwest of the city (fig 10),

squatter settlements (fig.13).

as follows;

(fig 11),

Sustainable Urban Development of a Historic City, Bursa/Turkey 193

the city centre to the north side of the city. This radical decision brought about development

Types of immigrant housing in Bursa can be classified in four groups, which can be defined

1. Immigrant housing with gridal layout pattern which is composed of one- or two-storey

2. Apartments provided by big companies for their employere, near the industrial areas

3. Squatter settlements surrounding the historic city center to the south and sprawling on

i. Social housing blocks located especially in the east and west ends of the city around the

the agricultural plain throughout the east-west axis of the city (fig 12),

Fig. 10. Examples of gridlined pattern (adapted from google earth)

Fig. 11. Examples of company dwellings (adapted from google earth)

Fig. 12. Examples of gecekondu settlements (adapted from google earth)

of new settlement areas around these factories in the periphery of the city.
