Case one

This case study invites participants to take a multidisciplinary approach to five-weeks long planning of a region that has the potential to become a cultural quarter, namely the Darağaç district of İzmir, Türkiye. The case is suitable for final-year higher education students enrolled in interdisciplinary programs such as design, architecture, planning, and tourism. Participants are expected to analyze the current situation in Darağaç, examine user profiles, including small manufacturing workplaces, automotive industry workers, artists, entertainment sector employees, and new and prior residents, and develop strategies for tourism routes. Participants will be divided into three groups to address the perspectives of different stakeholders: (1) new and prior residents with artists, (2) artists with entertainment sector employees, and (3) artists with manufacturing industry workers. Each group will prepare two alternative routes: one assuming preservation of the current state and one assuming renewal of the site. All groups must consider the important role of artists in shaping the Darağaç Cultural District and explore opportunities for integrating the proposed routes with existing tourism routes in İzmir.