Gül Aktürk

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at Leiden University

Heritage assets are vulnerable to climate change and disaster risks. However, existing literature has long been separating climate change from disaster risks, which were mainly considered as natural disasters. Recently, the framework of integrated understanding of climate change and disaster risk reduction in international policies started to be di...

Steep slopes, rivers, a rainy climate, and rich vegetation: the region of Fındıklı and the city of Rize (Türkiye) have been shaped by humans living with water. To understand the region’s traditional settlements, vernacular buildings and local culture, it is crucial to analyze its geomorphological setting. Yet, despite the importance of climate and...

This paper systematically reviews publications for the period 2002–2020 addressing the barriers to climate adaptation of cultural and natural heritage in the Northern and Southern poles. Climate change and its socio-economic implications deteriorate different forms of cultural and natural heritage, including archaeological sites, historic buildings...

The designation of cultural heritage, especially the World Cultural Heritage Site, is extensively discussed regarding its impacts on tourism destination branding. However, the impact of the designation(s) of World and/or National Cultural Heritage Site on affective city image and behavioural intention is still under-researched. This study aims to i...

Port regions are hubs connecting a nation and its hinterland to the rest of the world. Port cities' authorities and actors have always dealt with pressures and compromises in the sharing of space between agriculture, tourism, industry, and urban developments. The limited availability of land created conflicting uses over time especially when indust...

Vernacular heritage is undergoing rapid changes caused by the effects of the changing climate, such as loss of lands, biodiversity, building materials, integrity, traditional knowledge, and maladaptation. However, little is known about the causes of deterioration in vernacular heritage sites under changing climate and landscape conditions from a us...

Cultural landscapes reflect a cultural group’s continuous and evolved interactions with natural resources and the environment. By now, climate change has become the most significant threat to cultural landscapes, e.g., food security, water scarcity, and displacement. The cultural and natural heritage of cultural landscapes can enhance their value a...

Climate change is borderless, and its impacts are not shared equally by all communities. It causes an imbalance between people by creating a more desirable living environment for some societies while erasing settlements and shelters of some others. Due to floods, sea level rise, destructive storms, drought, and slow-onset factors such as salinizati...

The district of Fındıklı in the Northeast city of Rize in Turkey is environmentally and culturally rich with its rural, built, and natural heritage. The city of Rize has been experiencing more frequent and severe rainfall, flooding, and landslides in the last decade. River flooding along the coast and in the center of the city is destroying infrast...

The rural vernacular architecture in the highlands of the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey has survived over 200 years, yet the local traditions of craftsmanship in wood are disappearing. As these craft skills are no longer being handed down, the value of the intangible heritage that lies behind the vernacular architecture is no longer being prom...