İstanbul’da Köyden Mahalleye Evrilen Yerleşmeler
Bu çalışmada İstanbul’da yer alan kırsal yerleşmelerin varlığına dikkat çekerek; kırsal yerleşimlerin İstanbul için öneminin ortaya konulmasını amaçlanmıştır. Bugüne kadar yapılan çalışmalarda İstanbul, genellikle kentsel sorunlar temelinde ele alınmıştır. Kentsel fonksiyonlarının ön plana çıkması nedeniyle İstanbul’un kırsal yerleşimleri daima gölgede kalmıştır. Özellikle 2012 tarih ve 6360 Sayılı büyükşehir yasasıyla 30 büyükşehirde, ilin tamamının kentsel alan olarak temsil edilmesi; İstanbul’daki kırsal yerleşimlerin durumunu daha karmaşık hale getirmiştir. 1927-2018 sürecinde İstanbul’daki kırsal yerleşimlerin sayısı sürekli değişmiştir. Bu değişimin sebebi İstanbul’da köyden mahalleye evrilen kırsal yerleşimlerdir. Köyden mahalleye evrilen kırsal yerleşimler iki farklı kategoriye ayrılmaktadır. Birincisi İstanbul’un makroform alanın genişlemesiyle kırsal yerleşim birimlerinin bazıları kentsel alanla bütünleşip mahalleye dönüşmüştür. İkincisi ise somut anlamda köy niteliğini koruyan; ancak 6360 sayılı yasa kapsamında idari olarak mahalle statüsüne dönüştürülen köyleri kapsamaktadır. Bu çalışmada 6360 sayılı yasa kapsamında köyden mahalleye evrilen kırsal yerleşmeler ele alınmıştır. 2012 TÜİK verilerinde 151 olarak açıklanan İstanbul’un köy sayısının 173 olduğu tespit edilmiştir. 2012 TÜİK köy listesi ve Google Earth uydu görüntüleri esas alınarak oluşturulan İstanbul’un köy listesi saha çalışmalarıyla teyit edilmiştir. İstanbul’un su havzaları ve orman örtüsünün korunması için öncelikle kırsal mahallerin yerleşim dokusunun koruması gerekmektedir.
Settlements which Evolved into Neighborhoods from Villages
In this study, we draw attention to the presence of rural settlements in Istanbul and the aim of this study is to reveal the importance of rural settlements for Istanbul. In the studies conducted to date, Istanbul has been generally dealt with on the basis of urban problems. Because of its urban functions, Istanbul’s rural settlements have always been overshadowed. During 1927 to 2018, the number of rural settlements in Istanbul has changed continuously. The reason for this change is the settlements evolving from villages to neighborhoods in Istanbul. With the expansion of the first Istanbul’s macroform area, some of the rural settlements became integrated with the urban area and turned into neighborhoods. The second one, which maintains the quality of the village in the concrete sense; however, it covers the villages that have been administratively converted to the neighborhood status under Law no. In this study, settlements evolving from villages to neighborhoods within the scope of Law No. 6360 are discussed. According to TurkStat, there were 151 villages in Istanbul in 2012. However, in this research, 173 villages were determined by using satellite images. These findings were confirmed by field studies.
In the studies carried out to date, Istanbul has mainly been examined on the basis of urban problems. Istanbul is also a metropolitan area with rural settlements. However, due to the emergence of the urban identity, the rural areas in Istanbul have been overlooked. Especially, with the Municipality Law No. 6360 in 2012, which decreed all the metropolitan areas in 30 cities as urban settlements, and made the situation more complex. In this study, we draw attention to the presence of rural settlements in Istanbul and the aim of this study is to reveal the importance of the rural settlements for Istanbul. The results were examined according to the rural-urban changes gathered from Istanbul samples. This paper focuses on the quantitative changes in rural settlements during 1927 to 2018. Literature review and field studies with on-site observation method were carried out, and the systematic approach on the subject was used. The rural-urban concept was examined in the geographical sense. In order to examine the rural settlements systematically, main variables and sub-variables were determined based on the findings.
TurkStat data are the main source of the research. In the study, firstly, the quantitative changes seen in the rural settlements during 1927 to 2018 were revealed. During 2012 to 2018, the statistical data were processed and interpreted in detail. Within the scope of the Law No. 6360, the list of 151 villages, whose legal entities were annulled and transformed into neighborhoods, was prepared. Starting from this list, 964 neighborhoods, which were included in the TurkStat data in 2018, were divided into two main categories in the table as “Rural Neighborhood” and “Urban Neighborhood.” Thus, a list of 2018 Rural Neighborhoods was created based on the 2012 list of villages. Later on, a new list of Istanbul’s “2018 Rural Neighborhoods” was created by examining Google Earth satellite images. When the two lists are compared, the number of rural neighborhoods on Google Earth satellite images is 173, while the number of rural neighborhoods in the other list is 151. In 2012, there were 24 rural neighborhoods which were not included in the list prepared by TurkStat.
TurkStat data and lists prepared from Google Earth satellite images have been confirmed with the field studies. When the cause of this difference was investigated, it was determined that it was due to the annulled status of 41 cities in Istanbul with Law No. 6360. On the other hand, Zekeriyaköy and Uskumruköy in Sarıyer, which are on the 2012 TurkStat village list, were observed to be urbanized in terms of population and socio-economic indicators. As a matter of fact, it was found that in 2018, there were 173 rural neighborhoods in Istanbul, 86 on the European side and 87 on the Anatolian side. The list of the 173 rural neighborhoods was transferred to the “ArcGIS 10.6” program and mapped. The created map clearly shows that the urbanization in Istanbul expands to the city’s forest and water basins.
When we look at the quantitative changes in rural settlements, the number of villages in Istanbul increased from 260 in 1935 to 287 in 1980. While some of the rural settlements in the immediate vicinity of the city were added to the city over time, in the distant points of the city center, new village settlements were formed. This situation led to a gradual increase in the number of villages in Istanbul until the 1980s. The number of rural settlements in Istanbul and the numbers of rural population were affected by the migrations to the city.
In this respect, the number of villages in Istanbul has increased and decreased irregularly. However, in parallel with the increase in the population after 1980, the rural areas were added to the urban areas with the expansion of the city’s macroform. This situation led to a decrease in the number of villages in Istanbul. In 2017, the number of rural settlements in Istanbul decreased to 173. Today, due to the urban settlements in Istanbul, a large part of the forest and water basins have been destroyed. If the expansion of urban areas in Istanbul continues in this way, it may lead to vital problems in the future. Istanbul’s urban expansion process gradually destroyed the rural settlements. In all kinds of plans and projects prepared for the city, authorities and institutions must take into account the city’s water basins and forest vegetation. Therefore, in order to protect the basins and the forest vegetation of Istanbul, settlement patterns of the rural neighborhoods must be protected.
