City Cultures

Özet
Tasarım disiplinleri arasındaki sınırların eridiği günümüzde, çok disiplinli çalışmalar önem
kazanmaktadır. Özellikle de kent yaşamı ve kültürü gibi toplumun tamamını ilgilendiren tasarım
sorunları, disiplinlerearası yaklaşımlarla çok katmanlı ve farklı açılardan yaklaşılmış
çözüm önerilerine gereksinim duymaktadır. Bu bağlamda Mimarlık ve Grafik Tasarım disiplinleri
de kentsel alanların tasarımında birbirini etkileyen ve inceleyen iki ilgili alandır.
Bu çalışma, Kuzey Kıbrıs’ın başkenti Lefkoşa’nın önemli bir kamusal alanı olan Sarayönü Meydanı’nı
ele almaktadır. Tarih boyunca sahip olduğu konumu ve kullanımı açısından değerli bir
nitelik sürdürmüş olan bu meydan, günümüzde koruma altındadır. Ancak meydanda bulunan
tarihi yapı ve yapısallar varlıklarını sürdürüyor olsa da yapı yüzeylerindeki müdahaleler,
grafik ögelerdeki karmaşıklıklar ve uygunsuz kullanımlarından kaynaklanan sorunlar bulunmaktadır.
Korunan bir bölgenin sürdürülebilirliğine zarar veren bu durum, bir paradoksu
beraberinde getirmektedir. Kültürel açıdan çeşitlilik ve zenginlik gösteren kentsel bir alanı
kapsayan çalışma, bu çelişkileri ortaya koyarak çözüm geliştirilmesinin ivediliğine işaret eder.
Araştırma, Sarayönü Meydanı hakkında daha önce yapılmış olan literatür çalışmalarına; Grafik
Tasarımcı ve Mimar olan iki akademisyenin gözlemlerine dayanmaktadır. Bu örnek üzerinden
kent yaşamında önemli yeri olan meydanların, mevcut durumlarının iyileştirilmesi ve
yenilerinin tasarlanmasında görsel iletişimin önemine vurgu yapılmaktadır.
Anahtar Sözcükler: Kent Kültürü, Kentsel Alan, Görsel Kültür, Görsel İletişim Tasarımı, Lefkoşa,
Sarayönü Meydanı, Kuzey Kıbrıs
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Abstract
Multidisciplinary studies are getting importance while the boarders in between the design
subjects have been losing nowadays. Design issues are concerns of all public living in a city.
So such problems affecting the city culture should be dealt from different angles in multi
layered formats with cross fields of design. In this respect, architecture and graphic design
are interdisciplinary studies which have interest and influence each other in design of urban
spaces.
This study focuses on an urban space in North Cyprus. Sarayönü square has always been
an important public place in the capital city of Nicosia. It has a cultural value with its background
and locates in a conservation area. Although historical buildings around the square
are remaining, there are concerns / problems relating to disturbances on building surfaces,
pollutions /complications of graphical elements and their inconvenient use. There exists
a paradox for the sustainability of the prominent part of the city which was planned to be
protected. The study presents the conflicts and indicates the instance of the situations in
Sarayönü square.
The research is based on literature review on this particular place and the observations
of two academicians; an architect and a graphic designer. By this detailed case study, it is
aimed to make an emphasis on visual communication design while creating new squares or
rehabilitating the existing ones which take notable place in city culture.
Keywords: City Culture, Urban Space, Visual Culture, Visual Communication Design,
Sarayönü Square / Nicosia- Lefkoşa, North Cyprus

Sense of urbanity is a concept that expresses how much do people living in a particular urban geography care about or internalize the culture of the city, whether, in this respect, they adopted the specific attitudes and behaviours of the city they live in or not, and whether they have feelings for civic responsibility to the city or not. The impacts of migration on sense of urbanity are a controversial topic from various aspects. In this paper, the sense of urbanity is analysed in the specific sample of senior high school students and young people preparing for university in Kırıkkale. The reason for choosing Kırıkkale as a universe of this study is a city formed by migration, and maintained to be a migration and emigration city. Cluster sampling method as one kind of probabilistic sampling is used in this study, and the selected sample for the research is 2000 people in the 17-25-age range. The data obtained were analysed by statistical methods. According to the results obtained, the sense of urbanity among young people living in Kırıkkale is low.
Key words: Sense of Urbanity, Urbanization, City Culture, Migration, Kırıkkale.

The present article explores the rules of acting and living in the urban space, on which the images inspired by sensitivity and competences connected with digital and web change are regularly superimposed. This “digital imagination” is such a prime mover that it becomes the dominant model of perception, being and acting in the world today. Its presence and influence are especially significant for constitution of the contemporary memory, as well as for the conditions and ways of using it. My reflections on the status of memory are situated within the dynamics of digital change occurring in the urban space, because it is there where the achievements of the digital revolution catch on with the pioneering speed and involvement. Cities of postmodern fate decided through in categories as: identity, culture of places and space, and memory.