A myth? Sustainable tourism as a tool for rescuing traditional spaces: A case study from Turkey, Ankara

Abstract

The concept of social sustainability should be considered and investigated in developing the conditions of traditional urban spaces. Sustainable tourism can be a basic tool for the physical conservation of architectural heritage. The traditional spaces regain considerable visual and economical value with tourism investments but the social reactions are to the contrary. In the content of the study, two different characteristically spaces were selected in the city of Ankara. The selected urban core was composed of 19th century Ottoman dwellings called "Hamamonu" which have not been considered for a long time. The local municipality developed a project to rehabilitate a part of this area with the help of tourism and left the other part untouched "Hamamarkasi". Social, physical and spatial aspects will be questioned and the opinions of respondents will be output about the rehabilitation project. © 2011 WIT Press.