The Effect of a Cultural Landscape Area on Urban Green Spaces: Case Study of Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens

Abstract

The Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens are an example of combining cultural landscapes and urban green spaces. These types of areas preserve historical and cultural richness while meeting the green and social space needs of modern cities. The aim of this study is to reveal the impact of these two important heritages, which have cultural and historical value, on urban green spaces in the Diyarbakır Sur District. The presence of green areas in the Sur district has been determined in line with this objective. Field observations, Master Development plans, planning annotations, the “management plan”, land registry records, cadastral procedures, urban guidebooks, and digital mapping platforms were employed as methodologies. Inclusive and exclusive quantifications of the designated cultural landscape area were conducted. The study quantitatively reveals the presence of active green areas in two heritage areas intertwined with culture, nature and historical built environment. The fields of heritage and nearby environmental arrangements affect the amount of green space in the Sur district. These landscaping enhancements substantially elevated the per capita functional green space in the district, increasing it from 18.22 square meters to 37.75 square meters. Similarly, they increased the availability of parking spaces, with the per person spacedetermined as 16.64 square meters. This study thus recommends increasing the regulations in buffer zones that reflect the unity of traditional and modern elements, with sustainable approaches that are compatible with ecological balance and planned for the long term