The Social Context of Early Apartment Block Development in Istanbul

The study investigates the early phases of the apartment block development in Istanbul. This process, which took place in the second half of the 19th century, represents distinctive features. It reflects the west-oriented facet of the Ottoman Empire and sheds light on the transformation of the urban fabric from pre-modern to modern. For the clarification of this unique process, the study uses the Annuaire Orientals related to the years of 1889, 1893, 1896, 1910 and 1922. Through the Annuaire data, the social profile of the early apartment residents and the 'spatial setting of apartment blocks are investigated.

Autorentext

Zeynep Aktuna, graduated from the Department of City Planning in the Middle East Technical University in 2000 and had her master degree on urban design from the same department in 2003, is presently doing her PhD on the socio-morphological transformation of the historical center of Istanbul in the University of Provence (Aix-Marseille I).