From historical continuity to topological fracture: Istanbul Historic Peninsula

Istanbul's Historic Peninsula, once characterized by strong historical continuity, now exhibits a significant topological fracture. This shift is not abrupt but a gradual, scale-dependent process where the alignment between spatial structure and functional use has weakened, particularly at local and intermediate scales. The study, using Space Syntax methods and DepthmapX software, analyzed street network data across five periods (1786–2025), revealing that while trade-related Points of Interest (POIs) maintain strong associations with integration and choice values, cultural and religious spaces show more selective patterns. This mismatch highlights the need to rethink spatial continuity in terms of accessibility, wayfinding capacity, and functional distribution.

Günaydin, A. S., & Ergan, M. F. (2026). From historical continuity to topological fracture: Istanbul Historic Peninsula. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 17(6), 104152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2026.104152