Fener ve Balat semtleri rehabilitasyon programı sonrasında Balat çarşısı'nda yaşanan değişimlerin irdelenmesi
Examination of the changes in the Balat market after Fener and Balat districts rehabilitation programme
Yazar: NİHAN MUTCALI
Danışman: PROF. DR. GÜLÇİN PULAT GÖKMEN
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü / Kentsel Tasarım Ana Bilim Dalı / Kentsel Tasarım Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2022
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture ; Şehircilik ve Bölge Planlama = Urban and Regional Planning
Dizin: Kentsel koruma = Urban conservation ; Tarihi kent merkezi = Historical city centre ; İstanbul-Balat = İstanbul-Balat ; İstanbul-Fener = İstanbul-Fener

Özet:
Tarihi kent merkezleri zamanın katmanlarını barındıran, bulundukları coğrafyanın ekonomik, sosyal, kültürel, siyasal vb. tüm değişimlerinden etkilenen yerleşimlerdir. Zamanın izlerini taşımaları sebebiyle kültürel miras olarak kabul edilirler ve bu mirası ileriye aktarmaları için korunmaları gereklidir. 
Kentlerin sadece mekânsal öğeleriyle değil, sosyal boyutuyla da korunması yaklaşımı 1960'larda bütünleşik koruma kavramını ortaya çıkarmıştır. Proje örnekleri arasında incelenen Bologna kentini koruma ve sağlıklaştırma çalışmaları, bu yaklaşımın benimsendiği ilk uygulamalardan biri olmuştur. Türkiye'de bölge halkının yararının gözetildiği ve katılımcılığın gerçekleştirilmeye çalışıldığı projelerden biri Fener ve Balat Semtleri Rehabilitasyon Programı'dır.         
Bu çalışma, 2003-2008 yılları arasında gerçekleştirilen, Türkiye'deki AB destekli ilk sağlıklaştırma projesi olan Fener ve Balat Semtleri Rehabilitasyon Programı dahilinde Balat Çarşısı'nda yapılan iyileştirme çalışmalarının günümüzdeki mekânsal ve sosyal etkilerini analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. 
Tezde niteliksel araştırma yöntemlerinden biri olan durum çalışması kullanılmıştır. Fener ve Balat Semtleri Rehabilitasyon Programı'nın ayrıntılı incelenmesi, koruma ve sağlıklaştırma konularına ilişkin literatür taraması, Haliç, Fener-Balat Semtlerinin tarihçesi, Fener ve Balat Semtleri Rehabilitasyon Programı ile ilgili gazete arşivini tarama ile başlayan çalışma; Balat Çarşısı'ndaki dükkânlarda gerçekleştirilen projeye ilişkin soruların sorulduğu görüşmeler, dükkânlardaki mekânsal değişimin gözlemler, proje sürecinde ve 2020-2021 yıllarında alana gidilerek gerçekleştirilen fotoğraf çekimleri ve proje çizimleri aracılığıyla değerlendirilmesi ile sürdürülmüştür.  Görüşme yapılamayan dükkânlardaki değişim gözlem ve fotoğraflarla tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. 
Tezin giriş bölümünün ardından, ikinci bölümünde; kavramlar tanımlanmaktadır. Koruma kavramının kentsel boyutunun, türlerinin ve tarihsel gelişiminin anlatıldığı bu ilk bölümde ayrıca kültür varlığı, kültür mirası, mimari miras, bütünleşik koruma kavramlarına ve koruma konusunda uluslararası bildirgelere, ilkelere ve tüzüklere değinilmektedir. Kentsel korumanın iki yöntemi olan yeniden canlandırma ve sağlıklaştırmanın tanımlanmasının ardından, sağlıklaştırma konusunda dünyadan örneklere yer verilmektedir. Türkiye'de koruma kavramının ve yasalar bağlamında gelişiminin aktarılmasının ardından ülkede gerçekleştirilen üç koruma örneği incelenmektedir.
Örnekler analiz edilirken önce şehirler hakkında kısa coğrafi ve tarihsel bilgiler verilmekte, sonra korumaya gereksinim duyulmasının nedenleri açıklanmaya çalışılmaktadır. Koruma planlarının ve projelerin hedefleri, yaklaşımları, uygulama süreçleri, karşılaşılan zorluklar ve sonuçları irdelenmektedir.     
Üçüncü bölümde; Haliç ile Balat semtinin (mahallesinin) tarihi kısaca aktarılmakta, bölgenin geçmişten bugüne taşıdığı özellikler, kent için önemi, Balat'ın sosyo-demografik yapısı, Balat Çarşısı'nın tarihçesi ve sosyal yapısı ve bugüne kadar geçirdiği değişimler anlatılmaktadır. Ardından, alanda daha önce gerçekleştirilen ve daha sonra geliştirilen kentsel gelişim projelerine yer verilmekte, Balat'ın Fener semtiyle birlikte kapsamında veya odak noktasında olduğu iki kentsel proje anlatılmaktadır. Bunlardan ilki Haliç Kıyı Düzenleme Projesi, ikincisi mahkeme kararıyla iptal edilen Fener Balat Ayvansaray Kentsel Yenileme Projesi'dir. 
Dördüncü bölümde; Fener ve Balat Semtleri Rehabilitasyon Programı'nın gelişim aşamaları, bileşenleri, hedefleri ve çıktıları, detaylı incelenmekte, Balat Çarşısı'nda yapılan restorasyon projesi uygulama çalışmalarından bahsedilmesinin ardından kentte ve ülkede etkisini incelemek üzere projenin medyada nasıl yer aldığı araştırılmaktadır. Konuya ilişkin gazete haberleri ekonomi, siyasi, sosyo-kültürel ve mekânsal olmak üzere dört ana söylem başlığı altında gruplanmıştır. Bu araştırmayla, projenin başlamasından önce ve tamamlanmasından sonra medyada nasıl yer aldığı, hangi söylemlerin öne çıktığı ve bu haberlerin projeye ve yerleşime katkıları araştırılmıştır.
Beşinci bölümde yer alan alan çalışmasında, öncelikle Balat Çarşısı'nın mekânsal özellikleri, dükkân binalarının karakteristik mimarisi ile ilgili ayrıntılar anlatılmaktadır. İncelenen dükkânlar Fener ve Balat Semtleri Rehabilitasyon Programı (FBSRP) dahilinde restore edilmiş ve esnafıyla görüşme yapılmış dükkânlar, restore edilmemiş görüşme yapılmış dükkânlar, restore edilmemiş görüşme yapılmış ve restore edilmemiş ve görüşme yapılmamış dükkânlar olmak üzere dört kategoriye ayrılarak analiz edilmiştir. Dükkânlar, görüşmeler, yerinde yapılan gözlemler, cephe çizimleri ve fotoğraflar desteğiyle değerlendirilerek çarşıdaki mekânsal değişimler saptanmaya çalışılmıştır. Tüm analizler sonrasında çarşıdaki dükkânların tümü birlikte ele alınarak Fener ve Balat Semtleri Rehabilitasyon Programı (FBSRP) ardından günümüze gelinceye kadar çarşıda yaşanan mekânsal değişimler, projenin semte ve  çarşıya katkısı, bugün gelinen nokta açısından değerlendirilmiştir  
Sonuç bölümünde Balat Çarşısı özelinde Fener ve Balat Semtleri Rehabilitasyon Programı'nda başarılanlar ve gerçekleşmeyen hedefler ile bunların sebepleri ile günümüzde çarşının mekânsal açıdan ne durumda olduğu üzerine söz söylenmektedir. Kentsel koruma ve bu bağlamdaki yöntemlerden biri olan sağlıklaştırmaya yönelik gelecekte izlenecek ilkeler ve öneriler tezin son bölümünü teşkil etmektedir.

Abstract:
Historical centers of cities contain the layers of time and are affected by all the economic, social, cultural, and political changes in their geography. Because they carry the traces of time, they are considered cultural heritage and need to be protected to transfer this heritage to the future.
The approach of protecting cities with their spatial elements and social dimension revealed the concept of integrated conservation in the 1960s. The rehabilitation works for Bologna, which was examined among the project examples, was one of the first practices adopted with this approach. Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme is one of the rehabilitation projects in Turkey in which the benefit of the people of the region is considered, and participation is tried to be realized.
This study aims to evaluate the current spatial and social effects of the rehabilitation works carried out in the Balat Market within the scope of the Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme, which is the first EU-supported rehabilitation project in Turkey, carried out between 2003 and 2008.
The case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the thesis. In addition, interviews, observations, newspaper archives, project drawings, sociology, urban planning, and conservation literature were used.
In the study, in order to examine the changes experienced after the rehabilitation of Balat Market, which is one of the components of the Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme, a literature search was conducted on the concepts of urban conservation, revitalization, and rehabilitation, and the development processes of these concepts were revealed. The urban history of the Golden Horn and Balat and three complete projects produced for the region were examined. It has been tried to reveal the project's reflections to the public through the news on the economic, political, cultural, and spatial planes in the press about the Rehabilitation Programme, which is the subject of the field study. The effects of the project and the changes it created in the market were determined through interviews held in February 2020 with the shop owners or employees in the Balat Market. At the end of the study, the project's effects were evaluated, and suggestions were made by including personal observations as an architect working on the Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme Technical Assistance Team.
In the first chapter of the thesis, its purpose, scope, and method are discussed.
In the second chapter, the study explains the conservation concept using the literature. In this chapter, where the urban dimension and historical development of conservation are explained, the concepts of cultural property, cultural heritage, architectural heritage, and integrated conservation are also mentioned.
Urban conservation deals with the historical cores or parts of the cities in terms of the area where it is applied; it includes rehabilitation and revitalization. The definitions of rehabilitation and revitalization methods are made; purposes and application forms are examined.
Conservation approaches vary depending on the socio-political development processes of the countries. For example, in European and North American countries, urban conservation approaches have also developed along with participatory democracy.
After defining the two urban conservation methods, revitalization and rehabilitation, examples of rehabilitation projects from the world and Turkey are given. Short geographical and historical information given about Bologna, Grainger Town, Malaga, Safranbolu, Kaleiçi, and Kemalpaşa cases are studied in the examples, and the reasons for the need for rehabilitation are explained. Finally, the objectives, approaches, implementation processes, difficulties, and results of conservation plans and projects are examined.
The concept of revitalization is considered one method that includes a conservation dimension due to its context. Revitalization efforts constitute one of the central planning issues, as the collapse causes injury or deterioration in the original identity of the urban area.
Rehabilitation, which means bringing back to life in the field of protection, is called the work of making historical environments respond to today's needs.
In the third chapter, urban development histories of Golden Horn and Balat district (neighborhood) where Balat Market is located, which is the subject of the thesis, are examined, the characteristics of the region from past to present, its importance for the city, its socio-demographic structure, the changes it has undergone until today and the reasons for these are all detailed.
Then, two urban projects in Balat and the Fener districts are within the scope and described in stages. The first is the Golden Horn Coastal Arrangement Project, and the second is the Fener Balat Ayvansaray Urban Renewal Project, which was canceled by a court decision.
In the fourth chapter of the study, Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme is examined in detail as a project that includes the improvement of the Balat Market. The program aims to preserve and maintain the historical environment, improve the infrastructure and physical conditions, encourage the restoration of other buildings, create a rehabilitation project model for other parts of the city with similar structures, and, most importantly, not alienate the people living or working in the region. It is an exemplary project in Turkey with its structure that considers peoples' needs. It aims to increase income-generating activities, improve living conditions and sustainable development while including the residents as participants.
The main objectives of the project, which is expected to be completed in four years, are the improvement of buildings and social rehabilitation. The studies are grouped under the following four titles:
1. Repair of houses,
2. Rehabilitation of Balat Market,
3. Establishment of social centers,
4. Solid waste management.
The second component within the scope of the restoration is the improvement of the historical Balat Market. A budget of 150,000 euros has been allocated for this part of the project. The improvements made here are planned to include infrastructure works such as sewerage and lighting. While preserving the market's original structure, it aims to improve the physical conditions and infrastructure, strengthen its connection with the city, and make this place a center of attraction for Fener and Balat. Meetings were held with property owners and tradesmen to identify and improve the needs of Balat Market. In addition to the Technical Assistance Team, Fatih Municipality and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality have been given various responsibilities for the rehabilitation of the market.
In the second phase of the fourth chapter, newspaper news about the Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme is given under four main headings: economy, political, socio-cultural, and spatial. This research searched for news about the project before, during the process, and after its completion, along with discourses, and settlement.
The fifth chapter describes the field study in Balat Market. In the section where the spatial characteristics of Balat Market are examined, details about the characteristic architecture of the shop buildings are given. Balat Market begins at the corner of Ayan Street and Hızır Çavuş Köprüsü Street and divides into two streets towards the north at the small square. Leblebiciler is on the seaside of these two streets, and the other is Lapçinler (Lavanta).
The case study includes interviews with market tradespeople and employees and determinations about changes that the shops have undergone, which were restored within the project's scope. Photos of all shops taken just before the project, photos taken in February 2020, when the interviews were held, and photos taken in December 2021 are given side by side. There are also photographs of the shops restored in the project, taken in July 2008, when the application was completed. Sketches made on the facade drawings of the project produced by the Technical Assistance Team of thirty-two shops restored within the scope of Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme and illustration work made on the photographs of 2021 are also included in this section.
All the shops were divided into four categories: Restored within the Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme and interviewed with their tradespeople, restored within the FBSRP but not interviewed, not restored within the FBSRP but interviewed, not restored within the FBSRP and not interviewed. The interviews are examined in the context of spatial changes with the support of facade drawings and photographs, and on-site observations.
A general evaluation is made at the end of the chapter. The goal of urban integrity, which was tried to be achieved in the Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme, has been partially accomplished, but today it is not possible to say that this integrity can be maintained and developed. The Market has gained the attraction of tourism in recent years and the ability to meet the intimate environment's needs from the past. In addition, the Market does not have sufficient activity since twenty-one shops are closed or empty.
In the last chapter, the achievements, unfulfilled goals and the reasons for them, are examined in the Balat Market component of the Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme. Finally, the experience of the Fener and Balat Districts Rehabilitation Programme and information from the literature review that meets the common denominator of conservation of sociology and planning disciplines, the suggestions for the approach to conservation with the rehabilitation method are given below:
• It is crucial to exhibit a conservation approach instead of 'renewal' of historical environments. Projects should be developed to preserve the original qualities of historical environments, meet current needs, and adapt them to today's conditions, enabling them to become livable spaces. Revitalization or rehabilitation projects should aim at physical, social, and economic recovery because conservation is a planning element with physical, cultural, and social dimensions.
• The society should be informed about conservation, and it should convey that the issue of protection is a situation that benefits settlements and allows them to develop. In the areas to be protected, the public should be allowed to have a say in decisions about the neighborhood's future; therefore, inclusion, information, and participation of the resident population in the project should be seen as the most critical project strategy.
• Financial models should be developed to benefit residents with limited financial potential. Furthermore, it should be ensured that the articles regarding the protection of historical places at the establishment of TOKİ run in this direction.
• It is crucial to produce conciliatory solutions to the property problems of the buildings; it is necessary to carry out studies in this direction.
• The tenants' situation should also be taken into account, and strategies for the tenants should be created.
• Institutions and organizations related to conservation, universities, experts, and non-governmental organizations should be included in the project, and cooperation and coordination should be established.
• New financing models specific to the project regions should be produced for rehabilitation works. Financial resources should be obtained from different organizations.
• A good balance between global and local dynamics should be established (Kayın, 2008).
• While local governments are empowered to protect, coordination with the central government should be maintained.
• For the introjection of the project by the people, financial contribution of the users should be provided instead of a complete grant method.