Investigating Community-Led Placemaking Practices and Temporary Urbanism in Post-Earthquake Antakya, Hatay

Type: Urban Design and Research, Master Thesis , Master Urban Design TU Berlin /  Location: Berlin, Germany / Year: 2024

The study focuses on Hatay, including Antakya, Defne, and Samandağ, exploring the new daily life practices that were established with the will and solidarity of the local people and their efforts as the main actors to rebuild the destroyed life in their city after the earthquakes that occurred on February 6 and February 20, 2023. The study examines the places and lifelines where life and production are being repaired and reconstructed in Hatay. To document community-led placemaking practices and temporary urban interventions, the study uses fieldwork, observations, interviews, and online research. The study shows that citizens‘ efforts have created alternative bottom-up approaches to the top-down planning and reconstruction approaches initiated by the official institutions that have already failed. Showing that a city is more than its buildings and its community is essential for its existence, the study argues that placemaking practices by community initiatives are crucial tools for post-earthquake recovery. They can be scalable and transform top-down planning approaches in the long term as an alternative strategy.