The sixth seminar of the “Mimarlık Araştırmaları” seminar series organized by Istanbul Medeniyet University, Department of Architecture, was held online on 24 September 2021, 12:00, with the presentation of Res. Asst. Özge Ceylin Yıldırım, Research Assistant in the Department of Architecture at Yıldız Technical University.
In her presentation titled “Dünya Miras Alanları ve Risk” (World Heritage Sites and the Risks), the speaker mentioned the effects of natural risks such as floods and earthquakes and of human-induced risks brought about by developments such as urbanization and infrastructure faced by UNESCO natural and cultural heritage sites of universal value. Yıldırım discussed 52 World Heritage Sites in Danger and their vulnerability to various risk situations. She explained that World Heritage Sites may face one or more of the following social, economic, political, and environmental risks, as well as ways to mitigate these risks. Yıldırım also emphasized that risk-oriented strategies should be developed to protect heritage sites and hand down valued heritage to the future. In the presentation, Yıldırım also demonstrated through examples how the concept of risk threatening heritage sites was handled in the context of international contemporary approaches. The seminar concluded with a discussion and question-and-answer session on the threats to Turkey’s natural and cultural heritage sites.
