Gecekondu ve yarı gecekondularda morfolojik analiz
A Morphological analysis on squatters and semi-squatters
Yazar: PELİN DURSUN
Danışman: PROF. DR. GÜLSÜN SAĞLAMER
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 1995
Konu: Mimarlık = Architecture
Dizin: Gecekondular = Squatters ; Morfoloji = Morphology

Özet:
Kentleşme hareketi ile birlikte kırdan kente doğru yaşanan büyük göç sonucunda özellikle büyük kentlerimiz son derece çarpıcı bir oluşumla karşı karşıya kalmıştın Gecekondu. Bu çalışmanın amacı farklı bir kültürün izlerini taşıyan gecekondu konutlarını, yerleşim, kullanıcı özelliklerini incelemek; saha çalışmaları ile toplanan verileri morfolojik bir temelde analiz ederek, oluşturulan bu genel strüktürü desteklemektir. Tezin ilk bölümünde, gecekondu konutunun, onu şekillendiren insanlar için ne anlama geldiğinden, gelişen ve değişen dinamik kurgusundan, kent ve kentliler için taşıdığı büyük önemden ve sonuç olarak genel anlamda çalışmanın amacından söz edilmektedir. İkinci bölümde, gecekondularla ilgili çeşitli tanımlamalara yer verilmekte, kurgunun zamanla gösterdiği değişim vurgulanmaktadır. Üçüncü bölümde, gecekondu olgusunu oluşturan nedenler, yaşanan kentleşme hareketi özellikle Türkiye örneğinde ele alınmaktadır. Ortaya çıkan konut sorunu, insanların bu sorunun çözümünde farklı yaklaşımları üzerinde durulmakta, gecekondular bu anlamda değerlendirilip sonuca ulaşılmaktadır. Dördüncü bölümde, sözü edilen konutları biçimlendiren insanlar ve sahip olduklan kimlikler anlatılmaktadır. Beşinci bölümde, gecekondu, yerleşim ve konut ölçeğinde ele alınmakta; genel doku ve konut özellikleri ile ilgili bilgiler verilmektedir. Altıncı bölümde, gecekondunun bugün ortaya çıkan tablo içinde varlığı ve gerçekliği sorgulanmakta; konu ile ilgili olarak geliştirilen kimi yaklaşımlara, önerilere, çözüm yollarına değinilmektedir. Yedinci bölümde, seçilen yan-gecekondu örneklerinin analizi için gerçekleştirilecek araştırma yöntemi adım adım açıklanmaktadır. Sekizinci bölümü, konutların yer aldığı yerleşim bölgesi ile ilgili bilgiler ve yapılan analizler oluşturmaktadır. Ayrıca analizler yorumlanarak sonuçlandırılmıştır. Dokuzuncu bölüm ise çalışma ile ilgili tüm yorumların sunularak tezin sonuçlandırıldığı bölümdür.

Abstract:
The continuous influx of people from rural to urban areas through domestic migration brought a new concept of housing: Squatters. Squatters in developing countries, in a way, provide an alternative to meet the housing demand of the urban poor who migrated to the city. People, in urban areas without any compromise with law and building regulations, build their houses on land which they pretend that they own. These squatters, on one side, seem to be a major problem for metropolitan areas due to their unplanned appearance and on the other side, give an interesting reference point to the planners who try to find solutions to these people's housing problems by creating new environments. In this study, based on the attributes of existing squatters, this concept is evaluated with different measures and parameters, and questioned regarding to their changing and improving structures. The aim is to provide a general structure for us, the architects, about these residential areas which show a different culture in an urban environment with all the pros and cons considered. This study can be summarized as follows: In the first part of the dissertation, the aim of the study is discussed giving emphasis to the meaning of the squatter for its creators and inhabitants, its changing and improving dynamic structure, its importance for the urban areas and urban people. Pushed to the urban areas by the introduction of machinery in agriculture, population pressure, limited job opportunities, low income and increasing expectations, people created their buildings which carry much more deeper meaning than only a shelter. These buildings, in new and sophisticated environments, represent their presence: It is the first step to becoming urban and it carries hope for the future. When these residential places are observed, it is obvious to notice that the living habits of their inhabitants reflect their rural culture and present ties to their past. However during the adaptation period, this life-style and consequently the housing schemes change and this dynamic structure has major impact on urban areas and urban people. -XIII-In this dissertation, the reasons for the emergence of squatters, experience of this dynamic period and the characteristics of the residences and residents are discussed and a genera! framework on squatters is presented. The so-called semi-squatter concept is specified by field studies. The analysis of designated houses on morphological basis, in other words, expression with numbers and graphs and the physical form and field characteristics of designated settlements, are presented to clarify the concept. In the second chapter, various definitions of squatters are given and the change in time is expressed. The occurrence which is commonly used in architectural literature, can be very easily observed in the countries experiencing a urban wise and social wise change. In some sense, squatters are occurred as a result of rapid and illegal urbanization and represent no control, no authority and no plan. Referring to various sources a squatter is defined as a dwelling built against construction regulations and law in the outskirts of the cities. These kind of buildings are shelters for the poor where their housing needs can not be satisfied by the local or central government. But as the time passes, the single storey buildings with a yard transform into apartment blocks for rent or into illegal multi-storey semi-squatters. In the following chapters of the study, semi-squatters; illegally constructed on lands that the owner share the title deeds will be discussed. Semi-squatters actually constitute very important products of the change period from rural to urban. In the third chapter, the reasons of evolvement of the concept of squatters and experience of urbanization especially in Turkey are discussed. The different aspects of housing problem are expressed and squatters are evaluated in this respect. With the industrial revolution, the urbanization concept became more and more important. In fact, urbanization and becoming urban should be discussed together. Although demographic movement from rural to urban areas developed a physical place called a "city" the basis of this movement, a human being, still stays alien to this new life style and carries its rural personality to the city. Becoming urban is the main problem experienced in Turkey during the urbanization period. The concepts of urbanization evolved during 1950's in Turkey. The urban population increased at a fast pace, the impossibility of buying or renting a decent place with their budget constraint, the incapacity of existing residential areas and the inadequate regulations of building construction brought a conclusion called squatter. Squatters provided a solution to the intense housing problem. -XIV-It is a fact that the government was not successful enough in finding solutions to the housing problems of the urban poor. The cautions taken, the projects developed made this problem more and more difficult to solve. The increasing number of squatter population has been seen as a vote potential in the elections, and it could not offer any other solutions than bringing some services and legality to these places. Meanwhile mass housing examples were unsuccessful since they could not fit their life-style and changing needs. As a conclusion, the increasing number of the squatters became shelters of the 1/3 may be 2/3 of the city populations. in the fourth chapter, the people who shaped the squatter settlements and their personalities are expressed. The people living in squatters are the ones who carry their hope for education and improvement in social and economic status to the city since they were left with no land, no occupation with the industrialization and high technology. Squatter dweller possess a constantly adapting family figure. Through the course of time, not only the structure of the family and their daily habits but also their aspects of life changes. If summarized, both the structure of village and city people, their habits and life style are observed in a squatter family together. These people are very sensitive to education This is one of the main reasons for their migration. The education level of the parents are different but still they give importance to the education of their children. When the job diversification among these people is observed, the service sector is the leading one. Blue-collar workers or workers on special services are included in this group. Industrial workers, merchants and street peddlers follow it. The squatters are also their work place. The social personality becomes clearer with the occupation, education and income level. It is a known fact that the first step for their settlement is living with their relatives or in a rented place. When the income level of the family increases, they build the one storey house and develop it day by day. Today's examples with multi-storey buildings the materials used, equipment, decoration represent their social status depending on their income level not to their education level. When they get richer, they build these places and rent it and may be also sell it. The close relationship between friends and relatives, neighbors, support of each other are the concepts survive from rural culture in this urban place created by these people. They are all together in finding a place to live, finding a job, in developing their houses, completing the missing services in these squatter settlements. -xv-Squatters are built on other peoples land without any permission. The land is either public or private property. Recently, people started to build similar houses on their own land although they still have no right to build them. The squatter family carry a very interesting characteristics when their ownership of the house is concerned. During the adaptation period, some of them succeeded in owning a property, some started to rent and sometimes sell. The occupation, income level and their urban experiences are certainly the main effects on this outcome. In the fifth chapter, squatters are observed in the scale of settlement and dwelling unit. The squatter settlements are generally built in the outskirts of the cities far from the center but close to the transportation network and develop along the main highways around the industrial areas. They prefer places which are close to their workplace, and their relatives' residences and also easily accessible to their home land. Considering the human relationship and the life-style, street pattern developed with a different perceptive and density, small squares, house, yard and close environment relationship give a very unique character to these settlements. The dead end streets, squares, gardens similar in rural areas give opportunities to people for social activities. Places are sorted from general to private in a hierarchical form. Similar to the case in neighborhoods where the density is higher when it gets closer to the city centers, the density of the streets in neighborhoods varies according to their position within the neighborhood. The old neighborhoods which are close to city centers have high buildings without gardens. The main streets, squares, the environment and the density and also services show an urban characteristics in rural life. The characteristics of houses in these kind of settlements can be summarized as follows: 1- A squatter is developed step by step according to the people's needs coming from people's life style, the past, cultural, social and economic characteristics. A squatter dwelling is not a finished house. Planning is continuous. 2- The size of the dwelling is defined by the family structure. People usually prefer 2 or 3 rooms. The longer they stay in the cities, the bigger the size of the dwellings. On the other hand newcomers prefer one or two rooms. -XVI-3- People usually build the houses themselves depending on the economic level, by cheap material they get. Sometimes a relative or a friend who is a construction worker, sometimes other people they hire who has some knowledge of construction work shapes these houses. Infrastructure is usually accessed after the construction is finished. The old load bearing adobe house left their places to reinforced concrete buildings. 4- If we look at the spaces of the dwellings, the initial ones are consisted of one or two rooms: Standard room and multi-purpose entrance or room. The kitchen and the bathroom are added later, since they are costly and need labor to build. The yard is a big part of the daily life enabling different activities. Dwelling in this area develops step by step. The extraordinary relation between spaces is due to the continuous addition during its development. A central plan aspect is dominant in these dwelling. There is a living room and an entrance (or a corridor in later ones) which can also be used as a living room surrounded by rooms. Most of the rooms are used for circulation to minimize space. 5- In the dwelling, the rooms are not designated to any specific function. There are no functional groups among the rooms. The rooms, at the same time, include different activities. The dwellings have opportunity to satisfy users' dynamic needs. According to the changing needs, dwelling enlarges and improves. 6- There is similarity to a great extend between these dwellings and the ones they had in their homelands. As a result, it can be stated that cultural communication plays an important role in shaping the dwelling and consequently people migrated from different regions of Turkey build different squatter settlements according to their cultural past, their social, physical and economic coordination. 7- Privacy is taken in consideration in different ways in settlement and dwelling unit. In most of the squatter dwellings which are consisted of one or two storey houses similar to the rural settlements, the gardens and surrounding walls play an important role for this necessity. These kind of plans symbolize an indoor life-style, separates the dwelling and the life-style from the street and the neighbors. Privacy in the high apartment blocks is achieved by various spatial arrangements. In the sixth chapter, phenomena of squatterization of today and its reality are discussed and solution proposals are expressed. Squatterization will still continue being an accepted system as long as the factors that led to its formation exist. That is why, it will be useful when the country conditions are considered to improve the existing areas and to use as a potential in solving the housing problem. As a result, this concept should not be taken as a problem to be ignore totally but as a problem to -xvu-deal with and all the efforts should be given in this direction. Government should have this responsibility, and bring new projects to stop the migration and to find solutions the housing problems. In the seventh part, the research method is explained step by step especially which is used in examples of semi-squatter dwellings. In this study, a general data base about semi-squatter settlements is created by observing examples in the pilot region, together with the information of settlements form and plan characteristics and the users' economic and social and cultural characteristics. Observations, surveys and measures drawings are used for the collection of the data. The dwellings are analyzed on morphological base, the results are evaluated under various parameters. The morphological analysis is based on Bloch, Hillier and Eser methods. In the eighth part, there are analyses, their results and information about Bağcılar where the field studies takes place. With multi-storey semi- squatters which are built in the legally sub divided plot without any permission Bağcılar has a specific character in the city. The ninth part is the part where all interpretation of the study are presented and dissertation is concluded. Today, squatters are the solutions created by the migrated people with lots of expectations from the cities. As long as the speed and irregularity continues, when the governments' failure in provision housing to those people is considered, squatter is still an existing reality which should be taken seriously by the government and also planners and we, architects. In this project, the main characteristics on squatters and semi- squatters are discussed broadly, the users, their life style, settlements they shape, dwellings, the factors affecting that occurrence are analyzed. In the big cities like Istanbul, one storey buildings built on others' land are converted to buildings they develop illegally on their own land. Multi-storey buildings in some sense, eliminated the obstacle of owning a property. These buildings, semi-squatters can be stated as most important production of the big change people live in urban areas. Depending on the information achieved from various observation on this subject, it can be said that the migration from rural to urban areas can be stopped, data for new environments can be created, for the elimination of the housing problem of those groups can be developed and then planned, healthy urban spaces can be created. Based on this conclusion, it can be stated that the data base developed for the squatters and semi-squatters included in this study will help to achieve the goals discussed above.