Assessment of resilience in rural areas: The case of Bağlıköy, Cyprus

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47818/DRArch.2025.v6i1157

Keywords:

rural resilience, rural area, swot analysis, reslience, Bağlıköy

Abstract

Recent developments have significantly impacted both urban and rural areas, leading to increased migration from rural to urban regions and considerable challenges in rural areas. Rural activities have decreased due to the reduction in population and the labour force, affecting economic, environmental, social, and demographic structures. These natural and artificial changes constitute potential threats to rural resilience. Consequently, rural resilience analysis has become essential to ensuring the sustainability and well-being of rural communities in the face of economic, environmental, and social challenges. Rural resilience is defined as the ability to adjust, transform and cope with change in response to ever-changing regional dynamics. There are four key components of rural resilience: economic resilience, social resilience, environmental resilience, and cultural resilience. Robust infrastructure, including transportation, communication, and healthcare systems, maintains connectivity and access to essential services during adverse events. The research focuses on the cultural, economic, environmental, and social factors influencing the resilience of rural area. Besides, this study hypothesizes that the resilience of rural areas is significantly influenced by vulnerabilities resulting from regional transformations, and both natural and artificial impacts. Bağlıköy village was selected as the case study area to examine this hypothesis. A SWOT analysis of Bağlıköy’s rural resilience helps identify internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats that influence its ability to withstand and recover from challenges. The assessment of the vulnerability of rural areas to natural and artificial effects experienced with regional transformations linked to resilience factors. In conclusion, the study evaluates the rural area's resilience and provides recommendations to enhance its sustainability and adaptive capacity.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

  • Mümüne Selen Abbasoğlu, European University of Lefke

    M. Selen Abbasoğlu completed her undergraduate studies in the Department of Architecture at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) in 2001. She received her master’s degree in 2003 and her PhD in 2016 from the same university. Since 2011, she has been serving as a faculty member at the European University of Lefke. Her research interests encompass interior architecture and architectural education, design methods, visual perception, subjective well-being, vernacular housing, rural and urban resilience, public spaces, shape grammar, semiotics, cultural identity, children’s spaces, and interior design. She actively contributes to interior architecture design studios at her university. Dr. Abbasoğlu has participated in numerous international conferences on topics such as urban quality of life, space syntax, sustainability, resilience, and both architectural and interior architectural education. She has also focused on the theoretical foundations of architectural and interior architectural education, as well as urban and rural resilience, urban conservation, and urban planning. She has contributed articles to national and international publications on these subjects.

  • Fatma Bıldır, European University of Lefke

    Fatma Bıldır graduated from the Faculty of Architecture and Design at the European University of Lefke and completed her Master's degree there in 2024. Since 2020, she has been actively involved in both the design and implementation phases of conservation and restoration projects related to cultural heritage. Throughout her career, she has undertaken restoration and preservation work on architectural heritage elements from various historical periods. Her interests lie in the conservation of cultural and environmental heritage, with a focus on ensuring their preservation for future generations and enhancing their accessibility through digitalization. She continuously works to expand her expertise in these areas. In addition, she has participated in both national and international conferences, addressing topics such as urban and rural resilience, urban conservation, and urban planning.

References

Ainuddin, S., & Routray, J. K. (2012). Earthquake hazards and community resilience in Baluchistan. Natural Hazards, 63, 909-937. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-012-0201-x

Akbaş, İ. (2023). Dirençlilik ve dirençli kent yaklaşiminda yeni eğilimler: Bibliyometrik bir analizi. Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University SBE Journal, 13(3), 1866-1889. https://doi.org/10.30783/nevsosbilen.1302930

Altıntaş, G., & Hovardaoğlu, O. (2023). Kırsal kırılganlık ve dayanıklı kırsal planlama. Sketch: Journal of City and Regional Planning, 04(01-02), 24-52. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8068248

Bruneau, M., Chang, S. E., Eguchi, R. T., Lee, G. C., O'Rourke, T. D., Reinhorn, A. M., Shinozuka, M., Tierney, K., Wallace, W. A., & Von Winterfeldt, D. (2003). A framework to quantitatively assess and enhance the seismic resilience of communities. Earthquake Spectra, 19(4), pp 733-752. https://doi.org/10.1193/1.1623497

Cheng, Y., Kang, Q., Liu, K., Cui, P., Zhao, K., Li, J., Ma, X., & Ni, Q. (2023). Impact of urbanization on ecosystem service value from the perspective of spatio-temporal heterogeneity: A case study from the Yellow River Basin. Land, 12(7), 1301. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071301

Ciftcioglu, G.C., & Sunalp, C. (2019). Exploring the linkages between the building, home garden and human system resilience in Lefke Region of North Cyprus. Landscape Research, 44(6), 716-730. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2018.1498469

Cutter, S. L., Ash, K. D., & Emrich, C. T. (2016). Urban–rural differences in disaster resilience. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 106(6), pp 1236-125. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2016.1194740

Cutter, S. L., Barnes, L., Berry, M., Burton, C., Evans, E., Tate, E., & Webb, J. (2008). A place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters. Global Environmental Change, 18(4), 598-606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.07.013

Çeliksoy, E. (2021). Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti merkezi idare ve yerel yönetim teşkilatı. 21. Yüzyılda Eğitim ve Toplum, 10(30), 579-592.

Dincer, Ş. E., & Ercoşkun, Ö. Y. (2021). Kent planlamada yeni bir yöntem önerisi: kentsel dirençlilik endeksi. Resilience, 5(2), pp 159-172. https://doi.org/10.32569/resilience.811875

Eraydin, A. (2016). Attributes and characteristics of regional resilience: Defining and measuring the resilience of Turkish regions. Regional Studies, 50(4), 600-614. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2015.1034672

Ercoskun, O. Y. (2012). A paradigm shift towards urban resilience. In Green and Ecological Technologies for Urban Planning: Creating Smart Cities, IGI Global, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61350-453-6.ch001

Ersavaş Kavanoz, S. (2020). Kentsel direnç kavramı üzerine. Journal of Urban and Environmental Research, 2(1), 5-24.

Gökalp Yılmaz, G., & Şikar, A. (2023). Afetlerin etkilerinin zorunlu göç bağlamında incelenmesi: 2023 Kahramanmaraş Depremi. Journal of Disaster and Risk, 6(4), 1247-1268. https://doi.org/10.35341/afet.1290767

Heijman, W., Hagelaar, G., & Heide, M. (2007). Rural resilience as a new development concept. Development of Agriculture and Rural Areas in Central and Eastern Europe’, 100th seminar of the EAAE, Novi Sad, Serbia, 21-23 June 2007, 383-396.

Heijman, W., Hagelaar, G., & Van Der Heide, M. (2019). Rural resilience as a new development concept. EU Bioeconomy Economics and Policies: Volume II, 195-211. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28642-2_11

Holling, C. S. (1973). Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 4(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000245

Inal Onal, E., Tekeli Yeşil, S., & Okay, N. (2022). The use of Twitter by official ınstitutions in disaster risk communication and resilience: A case study from Turkey. Journal of Emergency Management and Disaster Communications, 3(01), 25-40. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2689980922500087

Jorge-Ortiz, A., Braulio-Gonzalo, M., & Bovea, M. D. (2023). Assessing urban sustainability: A proposal for indicators, metrics and scoring-a case study in Colombia. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 25(10), pp 11789-11822. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02554-6

Kan, M., Kan, A., Nizam. D., Perkin, A. D., Everest B., & Taşçıoğlu, Y. (2020). Dünyada ve Türkiye’de kırsal kalkınma uygulamalarındaki mevcut durum ve gelecek. Proceedings of the IXth Technical Congress of Turkish Agricultural Engineering-1.

Karakayacı, Ö., & Keser, F. (2021). Rural areas as resilience spaces in new regional development paradigms: A research in case of rural areas of Beysehir in Konya. Journal of Geography, (43): pp 217-233. https://doi.org/10.26650/JGEOG2021-913711

Lanlan, J., Sarker, M. N. I., Ali, I., Firdaus, R. R., & Hossin, M. A. (2024). Vulnerability and resilience in the context of natural hazards: A critical conceptual analysis. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(8), pp 19069-19092. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03440-5

Lefke Municipality. (2024). Yeşil Lefke: Sakinlik onun doğasında var! Access Address: 12.12.2024. https://www.lefkebelediyesi.com/

Li, Y. (2023). A systematic review of rural resilience. China Agricultural Economic Review, 15(1), pp 66-77. https://doi.org/10.1108/caer-03-2022-0048

Lizarralde, G., Chmutina, K., Bosher, L., & Dainty, A. (2015). Sustainability and resilience in the built environment: The challenges of establishing a turquoise agenda in the UK. Sustainable Cities and Society, 15, 96-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2014.12.004

Moloney, S., & Doyon, A. (2021). The resilient Melbourne experiment: Analyzing the conditions for transformative urban resilience implementation. Cities, 110, 103017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.103017

Muntele, I., Istrate, M., Horea-Șerban, R. I., & Banica, A. (2021). Demographic resilience in the rural area of Romania. A statistical-territorial approach of the last hundred years. Sustainability, 13(19), 10902. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910902

Özlü, S., Dedeoğlu Özkan, S., & Beyazlı, D. (2021). Kırsallığın seçilmiş sosyo-demografik değişkenler yardımıyla kümelenmesi ve zamana bağlı değişimi. Planlama, 31(1), 31–46. https://doi.org/10.14744/planlama.2020.13540

Özmen, A., & Can, M. C. (2018). Cittaslow Hareketi’ne eleştirel bir bakış. Planlama, 28(2), 91-101. https://doi.org/10.14744/planlama.2018.95967

Öztürk, A., İpek, F., & Kayacan, B. (2023). Cittaslow (sakin şehir) yaklaşımının sürdürülebilir yerel kalkınmaya etkisi: Şavşat örneği. MANAS Journal of Social Research, 12(1), 187-208. https://doi.org/10.33206/mjss.1143649

Pickett, S. T., Cadenasso, M. L., & McGrath, B. (Eds.). (2013). Resilience in ecology and urban design: Linking theory and practice for sustainable cities. (Vol. 3). Springer Science and Business Media.

Salvia, R., & Quaranta, G. (2017). Place-based rural development and resilience: A lesson from a small community. Sustainability, 9(6), 889. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/su9060889

Shukla, N., Das, A., & Mazumder, T. (2023). Assessment of urban form resilience: A review of literature in the context of the Global South. Environment, Development and Sustainability, pp 1-37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04058-3

Singh, A. K., Issac, J., & Narayanan, K. (2019). Measurement of environmental sustainability index and its association with socio-economic indicators in selected Asian Economies: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp.57–100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJESD.2019.10019989

Tepecik, A. (2023). Kırsal alanlarda dirençlilik meselesi üzerinde bir inceleme. 5th International Congress on Disaster and Resilience, 11-13 October 2023, pp. 405-414.

Topal, T. Ü., Korkut, T., & Kiper, T. (2016). Yerel kimliğin kent ile buluşması: Cittaslow Yavaş Şehirler. İdil, 5 (25), 1413-1430. https://doi.org/10.7816/idil-05-25-06

Town Planning Department (TPD) TRNC. (2024). Lefke development plan draft report.

UNISDR. (2009). Terminology on disaster risk reduction, united nations ınternational strategy for disaster risk reduction, Geneva, Switzerland.

Walker, B. H., & Pearson, L. (2007). A resilience perspective of the SEE. Ecological Economics, 61(4), 708-715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.04.010

Walker, H. B., & Salt, D. (2006). Resilience thinking: Sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world. Island Press.

Wang, C., Hao, Y., & Yao, J. (2024). Precise pollution control in new urban development areas: A case study from China. International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 23(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJESD.2024.135633

Windle, G. (2011). What is resilience? A review and concept analysis. Reviews İn Clinical Gerontology, 21(2), 152-169. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959259810000420

Downloads

  • PDF
    • | Abstract Views 0 | PDF Downloads 0

Published

2025-04-30

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025)

Section

Research Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Mümüne Selen Abbasoğlu, Fatma Bıldır

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Assessment of resilience in rural areas: The case of Bağlıköy, Cyprus . (2025). Journal of Design for Resilience in Architecture and Planning, 6(1), 57-70. https://doi.org/10.47818/DRArch.2025.v6i1157