Involuntary (forced) migration in rural settlements and resettlement: Case of Konya - Bozkır Barrage Resettlement

Abstract

Rural settlements that are shaped by the existence of the natural environment such as climate, topography, water resources, traditional buildings and gardens built with accessible construction materials found in the region, and organic structures in harmony with the natural environment are also cultural heritage areas. In this sense, preserving the traditional fabric of rural settlements and ensuring the continuity of rural life is important for sustainable development. The necessity of ensuring architectural identity and cultural sustainability in rural settlements that are faced with involuntary (forced) migration and whose projects are prepared for resettlement, as they may be adversely affected by the development projects carried out by the state, constitute the problematic of this study. Within the scope of this study, the Konya - Bozkır Barrage Resettlement Project prepared for the Dedemli village, which faces involuntary migration due to the construction of the Bozkır Barrage, is handled and evaluated with its positive and negative aspects. Based on the on-site examinations it is possible to mention that, although higher life standards are tried to be achieved in the resettlement project, both the overall planning of the project and the houses built with modern building materials in the exterior and interior exhibit a typology far from the traditional architectural typology and the socio-cultural, architectural, urban and economical continuity belonged to the place cannot be achieved. According to the results obtained from the field study, attention is drawn to the negative consequences of new resettlement projects produced on the basis of typical projects in terms of architectural identity and cultural sustainability, and the village design guidelines prepared for new villages are recommended to be applicable for villages that had to move and it is emphasized that principles should be put forward to ensure its continuity.

Housing Transformation Process in Government Provided Rehabilitation Project: A Study of Bhandarpara Ashrayan Prokolpo

“…Policymakers in rehabilitation process, often neglect the socio-spatial aspects, which results in the destruction of the organic spatial texture of rural settlements and hinders the inheritance of the traditional rural spatial form. In most of the rehabilitation projects the so-called higher life standards are achieved with modern building materials and planning that diverges from the traditional architectural typology relating to the years of experience of the users (Büyükşahin, 2020;Yanbo et al, 2018). Regarding the construction of houses, the rehabilitation projects endorses a fixed prototype design of (barrack) 'house' as the 'standard solution' for thousands of resettlement projects irrespective of the geo-climatic location of the project and socio-spatial practices of the people to resettle.…”