Abstract:

Conservation of historical environments is one of the means of transferring spatial information to future generations. The conservation of historical buildings by using them is an essential policy in terms of urban conservation. However, houses with rich historical backgrounds and located in urban sites have been abandoned by their owners, although they have been protected by law. This study aims to reveal the spatial causes for the abandonment of the houses in the historical environment. Bayındır district of Izmir city is selected as the study area with its rich historic building stock and protected urban texture. The abandonment rate of the buildings in the Bayındır urban conservation area is 19%. The method of the study consists of three stages. First, the spatial parameters that cause the abandonment of the houses are determined. Then, data on these spatial parameters are collected through field surveys. The last stage assesses the relationship between spatial parameters and abandonment using statistics. According to the chi-square and t-test results, a relationship is found between abandonment and the presence of abandoned houses around the house in question (p<0.05), the location of the toilet (in the courtyard or inside the house) (p<0.05), the presence of a staircase or an elevation difference at the courtyard or house entrance that make it difficult to access (p<0.10) and whether there is a staircase or elevation difference that makes access difficult in the house (p<0.05). Examining the spatial parameters that lead to abandonment is important in terms of policymaking to conserve the urban pattern in historical urban areas. This study can be further developed by including economic and social parameters that trigger abandonment in protected urban areas.

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