A Heterotopian Escape Space in Bursa: Kanalboyu Street
Ali YiğitIn this study, the development processes of Soğanlı, a suburb (a peripheral neigborhood) of the city of Bursa, and Kanalboyu Street, which is located between the Soğanlı, Çirişhane, and Çiftehavuzlar neighborhoods, were examined as a heterotopic place of escape, given that it corresponds to the concepts of heterotopia and escapism. In the first part of this article, the concept of heterotopia is examined; the heterotopia concepts of Michel Foucault and Henri Lefebvre and the third space mooted by Edward Soja and Kevin Hetherington’s “counter-hegemonic spaces” are evaluated along with the critical views of several authors, and halaza as an original Turkish concept is highlighted. In addition, by examining the meanings that Yi-Fu Tuan attributed to the concept of escapism, it is argued that Kanalboyu Street is a breathing space for those attempting to escape from the oppressive atmosphere of the surrounding neighborhoods. Kanalboyu Street, the subject of our research, was considered a heterotopic escape place and was chosen as a case study. In the second part, the process of Kanalboyu Street’s emergence, which is the subject of the research and was chosen as a sample for the heterotopic escape space, is examined. The process of being occupied by the suburb of Soğanlı, a village near Bursa City, and the current functional characteristics of Kanalboyu Street, which was formed by a stream passing through the village’s land are described. While preparing the study, a descriptive survey model, a qualitative research method were used. The research data were obtained through a review of the relevant literature, long-term field observations, interviews, and mapping. The conclusion states that opening up a wide street in the unplanned and irregularly developed areas of cities can significantly improve the lives of residents.
Bursa’da Bir Heterotopik Kaçış Mekânı: Kanalboyu
Ali YiğitBu çalışmada Bursa şehrinin bir kenar mahallesi olan Soğanlı’nın gelişim süreçleri ile bu mahalle ile Çirişhane ve Çiftehavuzlar mahalleleri arasında yer alan Kanalboyu’nun, heterotopya ve kaçış kavramlarına karşılık gelebilecek bir mekân olduğu düşünülmüş ve bu doğrultuda heterotopik bir kaçış mekânı olarak incelenmiştir. Yazımızın ilk bölümünde heterotopya kavramı üzerinde durulmuş, Michel Foucault’nun ve Henri Lefebvre’in heterotopya kavramlarıyla Edward Soja’nın üçüncü mekânı ve Kevin Hetherington’un, “karşı hegemonik alanlar”ı bazı yazarların eleştirel bakışlarıyla birlikte değerlendirilmiş ve Türkçe özgün bir kavram olarak “halaza”ya vurgu yapılmıştır. Ayrıca Yi-Fu Tuan’ın kaçış kavramına yüklediği anlamlar irdelenmiş ve bu açıdan Kanalboyu’nun çevre mahallelerin kasvetli atmosferinden kaçarak ferahlamaya çalışanların bir nefes alma alanı olduğu değerlendirilmiştir. İkinci bölümde, araştırmamıza konu olan ve heterotopik kaçış mekânı için bir örneklem olarak tercih edilmiş olan Kanalboyu’nun ortaya çıkış süreci incelenmiştir. Bursa şehrine yakın konumdaki bir köy olan Soğanlı’nın şehir tarafından kapılma süreçleri ve bu köyün arazisinden geçen bir dere kenarında şekillenen Kanalboyu’nun bugünkü işlevsel özellikleri tanımlanmıştır. Çalışma hazırlanırken nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden betimsel tarama modeli kullanılmıştır. Araştırma verileri ise nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden, literatür taraması ve sahada yapılan uzun süreli gözlem, görüşme ve haritalama çalışmaları ile elde edilmiştir. Sonuç bölümünde de şehirlerin plansız-düzensiz gelişmiş kesimlerinde geniş bir cadde açılmasının bu çevrede yaşayan insanların hayatlarını çok yönlü olarak kolaylaştırabileceğine dikkat çekilmiştir.
Postmodernity is characterized by an emphasis on heterogeneity, uniqueness, and difference. Geography, which has studied spatial differences since its inception, also offers a postmodern perspective. Michel Foucault, a pioneer of postmodernism, favored the application of difference, fragmentation, and discontinuity, the use of multiple forms of analysis, micro-analysis interwoven with macro-analysis, and pure thought combined with precise historiography analysis. Foucault developed the concept of “heterotopia” by asserting that space has a heterogeneous structure. Various scholars have interpreted this concept differently, and some criticisms have been made. Heterotopia, which Foucault uses to describe the escape and emancipation of the body from the hegemonic order, is a place for those who do not readily adapt to predetermined structures. It offers alternative spaces in a society that lives in conformity. Within heterotopias, there are also contradictions and conflict. “Halaza spaces” that emerge and find the opportunity to develop in socially disordered environments that emerge with the loss of the effect of existing rules and norms during disintegration, transition, or rapid change, are also a form of heterotopia. They are independent and disconnected free spaces that develop outside the control of sovereign powers. They are highly reflexive, more resistant and durable, and always open to change and transformation because they do not develop under someone’s control. reflexive.
Soğanlı was a village located 5 km north of the city center of Bursa, and it was incorporated into the city in 1984 as a neighborhood. In 1935, Tabakhaneler Region settled on the land of Soğanlı village, and in 1938, the Sümerbank Merino Wool Industrial Weaving Factory was established. However, the expansion of the city toward the lands of this village began with the opening of the intercity bus terminal in 1961 at the location of the current Bursa City Square and the development of the automotive industry site in Gaziakdemir District. The Tuna, Çirişhane, and Fatih neighborhoods began to take shape with the unplanned urbanization that began in the 1970s with Küplüpınar and spread along the Yalova Road. With the development of Alemdar and Çiftehavuzlar in the 1980s, Soğanlı village became a part of the city, and in 1984, the remaining parts of the village were incorporated into the municipal boundaries. Our research focuses on Kanalboyu Street, which was developed from the mid-1970s to the 1990s along the Cilimboz Creek that flows through this village. Just after the construction was completed in 2009, hedge plants and trees were planted along the creek’s walls, which were incorporated into the canal. Consequently, the creek in the middle of the street has been altered into a park. Neighborhoods on both sides of the street consist of houses on rather narrow, unpaved streets lined with irregular structures. When vehicles are parked on these narrow streets, it becomes impossible for both vehicles and pedestrians to move. On both sides of Kanalboyu Street, the population density in an area of 1 decare is 35 people per square meter. In other words, 55,000 individuals reside 500 meters east and west of the street. We can think of Kanalboyu Street, the part of the city that spontaneously developed in an irregular and unplanned manner—a spontaneously unplanned irregular heterotopic escape area—as a breathing space, a corridor for the people trapped in this congested section of the city.
In 21st-century urban areas, escaping reality requires shifting away from settled or everyday environments and moving closer to the outdoors and nature. Our research area, Kanalboyu Street, is where those who try to escape the mundanity and gloom of the surrounding neighborhoods come to rest and relax. Additionally, they can indeed find almost everything they need in the shops that line the street, and they can buy more cheaply, freely, and outdoors. Kanalboyu Street is not only a place to breathe, relax, and spend time but also marks the connection between the inhabitants of this neighborhood and the rest of the world. In other words, the most important function of Kanalboyu Street is that it serves as a transportation corridor, allowing residents to access nearly all parts of the city. Another key function of Kanalboyu Street is that, as a commercial area, it meets nearly all the needs of a medium-sized city and provides shopping opportunities, as nearly all types of commerce and workplaces are located along the street. Moreover, cultural and health functions are provided by educational and medical institutions and workplaces located on and around the street. When analyzing the functional characteristics of Kanalboyu Street, we find that, despite its location on the periphery of a big city such as Bursa, its business and commercial areas can meet nearly all the basic needs of the surrounding population, as if it were the center of an independent settlement. This situation reveals a heterotopic structure in which a significant element of the city’s functions is carried out outside the central business district.
In the neighborhoods on both sides of Kanalboyu Street, there is a heterogeneous population consisting of the residents of the old Soğanlı village, the majority of whom are from Bursa districts, and those from almost every other region of the country, particularly the Balkans, Eastern Anatolia, and the Black Sea provinces. It is possible to draw important inferences about the identity, culture, and ties of the places where these people originated based on the place names constructed by people from various locations. From this perspective, examining the names of Kanalboyu Street’s workplaces affords highly meaningful results.
With the expansion of Bursa City toward the plain, Kanalboyu Street, formed by unplanned irregular construction along the Cilimboz Creek, which joins the Nilüfer Stream, is an alternative space that shares the functions of the central business district. It is a place of sanctuary for those who feel stressed by the city’s irregular and extremely narrow streets, its unplanned development, and its haphazard buildings. It also serves as a highly active transportation corridor and a significant entertainment district for locals. With these characteristics, the area has emerged as a heterotopic escape territory.
