Tanzimat Reforms and Urban Transformations in Ottoman Port-Cities

The 19th century was a milestone for urban planning history of the Eastern Mediterranean region since the typology of the Ottoman city was reformed, more or less abruptly, by strong Western European influences as a consequence of broader political, economic, and social transformations. From the very beginning of the 19th century, the Ottoman state confronted significant administrative issues that raised in the importance to institutionalise reforms over a long period of time, representing the foundation of later urban “modernisation reforms”. These challenges of the Ottoman cities at that period coincided with one crucial reform framework known as “Tanzimat”, which reflected the social willingness to inherit elements of European culture, technological innovations, and lifestyle. According to that direction, urban space was considered as a workshop of planning regulations and reforms adopting principles of contemporary, at that time, European urban planning, mostly applied in England and France. These social and urban reforms established by the Ottoman state marked the first attempt to relate Ottoman cities with European planning, urban infrastructures, building regulations, and public administration. During the period of Tanzimat (1839-1876), the economic role and impact of cities was strengthened reflecting a rising urbanisation of population. This article highlights this “Europeanisation” of Ottoman cities at the period of Tanzimat by investigating five case-study cities: Smyrna, Beirut, Alexandria, Thessaloniki, and Constantinople. All these cities were important ports-hubs of the Eastern Mediterranean whose urban development since the 1840s was a direct consequence of the modernisation reforms and, in general, an increase of European influence. These urban reforms, like in many European cities, included new transport infrastructures and communication networks, public services (water, gas, tramways, etc.), health and education, and new industrial patterns.

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