Abstract
Building Past Landscapes for the Future: Landscape Biography of a Wetland
Landscape biography is an analysis of the long-term changes, spatial transformations, values, and the complex interaction between social and economic developments in a particular region from prehistoric periods to the present. As an essential part of human life, landscapes have the potential to absorb moments, memories, and thoughts. Human existence and personal life cycles also contribute to this process. In this research, it is revealed biographically how landscape-human-space (wetland-Lake Bafa) and time characteristics shaped, changed, and transformed each other in the long-term (longue durée). For this purpose, the biographical database of Lake Bafa and its surroundings was created by processing historical maps and data using Geographical Information Systems. The data were first separated according to their periodic characteristics and mapped by making trend and density analyses. As a result, the connection of a wetland landscape with the past and the present is revealed biographically, and predictions are made for the future. With these predictions, the long-term changes of the landscape were examined and the importance of the biographical approach not only for landscape architects but also for different professional disciplines that would contribute to this work was emphasized. The results of this research will contribute to cultural heritage in terms of establishing the connection of wetlands and other landscapes to the past and the management of the future.
Keywords
Landscape, Landscape Biography, Long Term (Longue Durée), Lake Bafa, Wetland, Past Landscapes.
