Understanding the Historic Center by Using Network Analysis with Mental Mapping Method: The Case Study of Amasra, Turkey

Abstract

The history of the Amasra city center dates back 3000 years with its Fortress and City Walls, which are on the UNESCO temporary heritage list, and the important historical buildings around it. However, the ongoing controversy on Amasra’s conservation plan has revealed the difficulties of developing an approach that understands the historic fabric. In this context, the social relations of the urban images in Amasra, which is located on an archeological site and has an urban identity with its historical buildings, need to be analyzed. The aim of this study is to present an evaluation model that analyzes the network map of the places that create the urban image in the historic center of Amasra using visual methods. The urban images that form the historical identity in Amasra were mapped using the mental mapping method and developed using network analysis on the Graph Commons platform. The network analysis includes cluster and centrality metrics, which helps to understand social relationships in the network map according to its algorithm. The main focus area and central actors were explored with the simulation obtained by using this proposed model. The study results showed that the evaluation model is effective in understanding the formation mechanism of the historical center of the social networks between the architectural structures in Amasra. This study contributes to development in terms of enhancing historical identity and revitalizing the city images with tourism by evaluating the spatial structure of Amasra.