Volume 5, Issue 1 (January 2018), Pages: 136-142
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Original Research Paper
Title: Spatial co-transformation through socio-cultural resilience strategies in post-conflict divided Nicosia
Author(s): Huriye Gurdalli *
Affiliation(s):
Department of Architecture, Near East University, Nicosia/TRNC, Mersin 10 - Turkey
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2018.01.018
Full Text - PDF XML
Abstract:
When the political and ethnic conflict results with the division of cities, the issue of urban resilience is more than everyday debate. Nicosia has been reputed as the last divided capital city in Europe where the Buffer Zone formalized in 1974 by the UN control, broke the social and spatial integrity. Although the political solution is not achieved for a united Nicosia, the initiative founded jointly by the professionals from north and south sides created a unique solution for the city. However the physical planning strategies achieved by the Nicosia Master Plan (NMP) were still limited as the city was far from being shared socially and culturally by the citizens. The opening of the Ledra Gate on one of the main axis of the urban core in 2008 was accepted as a milestone. The freedom of movement made the citizens feel as if they belonged to an urban unity. With the hope of developing socio-economic daily interactions, NGOs on both sides have stepped to the arena to strengthen the physical success of the NMP. This paper explores the re-production of urban space concentrating on the efforts of professionals and citizens rather than the states for the resilience of a once contested space. The analysis is based on verbal and visual records. It focuses on the process where a divide is turned to be perceived as a shared space and by exemplifying the unique example of Nicosia, aims to put out an insight into post-conflict spatial and social transformation.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by IASE.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: Urban resilience, Buffer zone, Nicosia, Nicosia master plan, NGOs
Article History: Received 12 March 2017, Received in revised form 3 November 2017, Accepted 28 November 2017
Digital Object Identifier:
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2018.01.018
Citation:
Gurdalli H (2018). Spatial co-transformation through socio-cultural resilience strategies in post-conflict divided Nicosia. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 5(1): 136-142
Permanent Link:
http://www.science-gate.com/IJAAS/2018/V5I1/Gurdalli.html
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