The Transformation Process of the Galata Port in Istanbul: Reflections on the Impacts of the Galataport Project

Waterfront areas in historic port cities are usually considered as having the potential to boost the city’s tourist appeal, and, in many cases, are subjected to extensive transformation projects. In view of the fact that reconciling the goals of conservation and development has become a requisite for the sustainability of both, change in historic areas is acceptable up to a certain extent, so long as the urban integrity is respected as ‘the result of the historic layering of cultural and natural values and attributes’.1