Sustainable preservation strategies in historical city centers: conceptual framework and possibilities for Shusha

Abstract

The rehabilitation of historical cities has been one of the main concerns of both academy and governmental organisations for so far. However, the rehabilitation, transformation and revitalization projects that aim to redefine the urban role of the place cover the risk to weaken the cultural values and to form gaps within the collective memory. Therefore, concepts such as sustainable preservation strategy and holistic approach come to forefront. In this framework, this paper focuses on the conceptual framework of the sustainable preservation approaches. With this in mind, the main parameters of the subject such as sustainability of the cultural entity and place-society relations, improvement of the socio-economic structure and participatory decision processes are taken into consideration. Besides, a rehabilitation intervention focusing on a historical artery of Izmir: Patlıcanlı Street is going to be shared, and some keywords related to the reorganisation of the city of Susha is discussed.