A Sustainable Solution of Urban Revitalization: Transformations of Shopping Malls

Globalization newly introduces that individual and collective identities, social and economic values. Since the globalization addresses its impact in terms of local identity, the architectural products of this dominancy creates homogenization in which the similar buildings start to be cumulated in global cities of the World. Local cultural buildings give theirplaces to the same design mannered and same functionalised modenr buildings.Evolution of public places, which are composing an urban identity for every city, contemporary shopping centers as an crucial urban spaces instead of traditional shopping places, start to be recognizable in distant corners of the world. By the effect of imposed identities on architecture, shopping malls where began to enter the daily social life around the 50’s, often are becoming a part of the urban lifestyle in many countries, including Turkey. Because of various social and economic reasons; the decline of many massive shopping malls could be predictable in the near future, forwhy failed to integrate with the urban fabric and contribute to the standard of living. From the past to the present; shopping places which are considered as the most important human element of urban design that is shaped by the social, cultural and economical characters of living society, have led to a rapid restructuring process under the impact of globalization in the world in recent years. This study aims to evaluate the aspect of sustainability in the renovated shopping malls which are one of the most important social and economic structures of the era. In this context, aspects that constitute the design criteria for the transformed shopping centers from a sustainability point of view have been discussed, regarding the effects on urban fabric and integrating the contemporary environmental along with examples compariso*ns from Turkey. In this study, the reasons that cause shopping malls became vertigial and thier new functions will be discussed compertaively. The units of analysis are Bakirkoy Town Center and Minasera shopping mall which are in Istanbul and Ankara. Economic and social contributions of new functions wil be discussed within the framework of sustianability criteria.