Changes to Urban Form in Eastern Mediterranean Port Cities: Formation and Transformation of the Çamlıbel Neighborhood in Mersin

Abstract

During the nineteenth century, the incorporation of Eastern Mediterranean port cities into the industrial core and the subsequent modernization process resulted in changes to urban forms. These changes were evident in the appearance of commercial environments in the old city but also emergent in the new residential quarters that are accretions to the historic core. Therefore, a dichotomy emerged in port cities, revealed through their diverse urban patterns; some of these patterns were inherited from the past up to the twentieth century while the others were new residential environments that showed the spatial expressions of preconceived growth. In this study, the formation and transformation of the Camlibel neighborhood in Mersin is investigated as a new urban environment of the emerging bourgeoisie. The effect of the characteristics of the emerging new urban forms on the intrinsic qualities of Eastern Mediterranean port cities is questioned. The study concludes that the spontaneity of collective actions intended to produce the city as an organic whole was replaced by the deliberation of individuality intended to construct freestanding buildings on the basis of single plots.