Nevval Sevindi - <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Sevindi, Nevval. <i style="">Kent ve Kültür</i>.<br/>İstanbul: Alfa Yayınları, 2003, 312pp.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><o:p style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</o:p></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:200%"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><b>ABSTRACT</b><b style="font-size: 11pt;">&nbsp;</b></span></p><br/><br/><h1 align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:200%"><b><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-size: 14px; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">City and Culture<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">&nbsp;</span><i style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kent<br/>ve Kültür</span></i></span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:200%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">This book deals<br/>with the concepts of ‘city’ and ‘culture’. The author is an anthropologist who<br/>maintains that cultural and social relations in Turkey are overshadowed by the<br/>political and economic problems, and that solutions are sought in political<br/>organisations. According to the author, ‘Turkey’s problem is due to the lack of<br/>a particular cultural view and the entanglement of politics with culture’. In<br/>his view the urbanisation problems should not only be evaluated in terms of<br/>engineering, but also be considered in terms of social values and human<br/>relations. Moreover, it is necessary to organise social projects in order to<br/>change the social structure of the city as only in this way can unhealthy and<br/>unstable growth in cities be solved. <o:p></o:p></span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><o:p style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</o:p></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">In the second<br/>section, titled ‘Narratives of Istanbul’, the past and present of the city are<br/>recounted. Istanbul, once the capital of an empire and has, the author states,<br/>always been the home of people from various nationalities, countries,<br/>languages, and faiths, but it has never achieved a unified social identity as a<br/>city. The author maintains that today’s Istanbul has lost its spirit and<br/>identity and that compared to its past status, contemporary Istanbul is<br/>populated by a restless society due to people following the tradition of their<br/>original hometown despite choosing to settle in the city.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><o:p style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</o:p></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">The third<br/>section is entitled ‘Anatolian Cities and Culture’. The urban life and culture<br/>of cities such as Konya, Malatya, Şanlıurfa, Van, Antalya, Adana, Mersin, and<br/>Ankara are depicted. The author takes the view that not only Istanbul, but also<br/>other Anatolian cities with valuable cultural, artistic, and natural beauty,<br/>face the threat of losing their intrinsic and cultural heritage due to lack of<br/>protection coupled with a paucity in architectural esthetics. According to the<br/>author, the only city to preserve its spirit and identity is Izmir. Izmir is<br/>described as a city which 'experiences social and economic fluctuation but<br/>which is always faithful to its cultural heritage’.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><o:p style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</o:p></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">In the last<br/>section, titled ‘World Cities and Culture’, a number of cities such as Buenos<br/>Aires, London (famous for its entertainment industry), Rio (where poverty and<br/>abundance co-exist) and St. Petersburg (a cultural symbol), are depicted. <o:p></o:p></span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><o:p style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</o:p></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><span style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">In <i>City and Culture</i>, the author criticises<br/>urban projects, which ignore social relations, and cultural and artistic<br/>values. As a social scientist she tries to address the problems of<br/>urbanisation. Although the author aims to provide her analysis from an<br/>anthropological point of view based on her own expertise, she instead tends to<br/>use a literary style throughout the book, which is not always suitable. Another<br/>shortcoming of the work is that the section titles do not always represent the<br/>themes they purport to discuss. <o:p></o:p></span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:200%"><o:p style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</o:p></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right;line-height:200%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Bilge Gökter<o:p></o:p></span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right;line-height:200%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Translator Gülşah Dindar<o:p></o:p></span></p><br/><br/><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p style="font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</o:p></p>
City and Culture
Type
abstract
Year
2014

Sevindi, Nevval. Kent ve Kültür.
İstanbul: Alfa Yayınları, 2003, 312pp.



 



ABSTRACT 



City and Culture



 Kent
ve Kültür



 



This book deals
with the concepts of ‘city’ and ‘culture’. The author is an anthropologist who
maintains that cultural and social relations in Turkey are overshadowed by the
political and economic problems, and that solutions are sought in political
organisations. According to the author, ‘Turkey’s problem is due to the lack of
a particular cultural view and the entanglement of politics with culture’. In
his view the urbanisation problems should not only be evaluated in terms of
engineering, but also be considered in terms of social values and human
relations. Moreover, it is necessary to organise social projects in order to
change the social structure of the city as only in this way can unhealthy and
unstable growth in cities be solved.



 



In the second
section, titled ‘Narratives of Istanbul’, the past and present of the city are
recounted. Istanbul, once the capital of an empire and has, the author states,
always been the home of people from various nationalities, countries,
languages, and faiths, but it has never achieved a unified social identity as a
city. The author maintains that today’s Istanbul has lost its spirit and
identity and that compared to its past status, contemporary Istanbul is
populated by a restless society due to people following the tradition of their
original hometown despite choosing to settle in the city.



 



The third
section is entitled ‘Anatolian Cities and Culture’. The urban life and culture
of cities such as Konya, Malatya, Şanlıurfa, Van, Antalya, Adana, Mersin, and
Ankara are depicted. The author takes the view that not only Istanbul, but also
other Anatolian cities with valuable cultural, artistic, and natural beauty,
face the threat of losing their intrinsic and cultural heritage due to lack of
protection coupled with a paucity in architectural esthetics. According to the
author, the only city to preserve its spirit and identity is Izmir. Izmir is
described as a city which 'experiences social and economic fluctuation but
which is always faithful to its cultural heritage’.



 



In the last
section, titled ‘World Cities and Culture’, a number of cities such as Buenos
Aires, London (famous for its entertainment industry), Rio (where poverty and
abundance co-exist) and St. Petersburg (a cultural symbol), are depicted.



 



In City and Culture, the author criticises
urban projects, which ignore social relations, and cultural and artistic
values. As a social scientist she tries to address the problems of
urbanisation. Although the author aims to provide her analysis from an
anthropological point of view based on her own expertise, she instead tends to
use a literary style throughout the book, which is not always suitable. Another
shortcoming of the work is that the section titles do not always represent the
themes they purport to discuss.



 



Bilge Gökter



Translator Gülşah Dindar



 

Citation
Gökter, Bilge. '"English abstract of 'City and Culture'". Translated by Firas Alhawat. In Cities as Built and Lived Environments: Scholarship from Muslim Contexts, 1875 to 2011, by Aptin Khanbaghi. 72. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014.
Authorities
Collections
Copyright
Muslim Civilisations Abstracts - The Aga Khan University
Country
Türkiye
Language
English
Keywords
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