Gaziantep During the Urbanization Period of the Nation-State (1923-1950)

Abstract

In this study, the urbanization of the city Gaziantep during 1923-1950 is examined. The literature was reviewed and a theoretical background established for the subject. Subsequently, additional materials were obtained. The first zoning map of the study area, developed in 1938, was obtained from the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality. Historical population data of the study area were accessed through the archives of the Turkish Statistical Institute and the Gaziantep provincial yearbook. These findings indicated that two important factors were effective in shaping the city of Gaziantep during 1923-1950. The first is that the city was absorbed into the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century. The other is the creation of entrepreneurship infrastructure beginning with the Imalat-i Harbiye factory, established in 1920. The founders of the Republic of Turkey gave great importance to the city of Antep, inhabited by a largely Turkish population in the south of the country, according to the logic of the nation-state. In the early years of the Republic, the population of the city continued to develop according to the medieval establishment plan. The rate of urbanization in Gaziantep during 1935-1940 was lower than that of Turkey as a whole. However, since that time, Gaziantep's rate of urbanization has been above the Turkish average. The second development, reflected in the spatial fabric of the city in the early years of the Republic, was the first zoning plan of the city and was developed by German architect Herman Jansen.