Port Heritage, Planning Challenges and the Role of GIS Tools in Multi Layered Cities

Abstract

The aim of this study is to present arguments showing that on the port heritage area, underground cultural inventory should be considered from the historic landscape point of view within the framework of the conservation plans. This study focuses on the Yenikapi region, whose settlement history of the Historical Peninsula changed following the rescue excavation performed at the end of The Bosphorus Rail Tube Crossing Project (Marmaray). The area covering the Port of Theodosius, whose multi-layered urban formation started in the Neolithic period and which was one of the most significant grain trade ports in the Byzantine era, and the port heritage within the background of this area consist of important spatial formations. However, waterfront regeneration projects have disrupted the spatial continuity of cultural heritage under the effect of neoliberal policies. The methodology of the study, which involves the use of the Geographical Information System (GIS), is based on the overlapping of the archaeological surveys from the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, geological structure data from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and historical maps. The conservation planning approach in a metropolitan city like Istanbul, whose archaeological layers reflect the port heritage, should be developed by applying the concept of historic urban landscape.