Integrated and Sustainable Approaches towards Protection Problem of Urban and Cultural Heritage in Pristina

The historical city center and its surroundings in Pristina have an important urban texture remaining from the Ottoman Period, which are of great importance in terms of urban identity. Despite this, this area has undergone a great change within the scope of modern urban approaches, especially during the Yugoslavia Period (1945-1999). The areas considered as wear down or dysfunctional have been demolished while institutional facilities, public squares and cultural facilities have been built in those areas. Other areas of the city are full of unplanned buildings. High-rise building, neglect of old houses ones, restorations on the basis of parcels and wrong applications of these restorations have increased the destruction in the cultural area. With the boundaries of the historical area being still undetermined, the problem of protection is getting worse and deeper. Although some cultural monuments that have survived to the present day have been partially preserved, in Kosovo, the tradition of preserving cultural heritage in urban scale as well as treating it wıth an integrated approach has not evolved enough. This phenomenon is seen strikingly in the example of Pristina. This study focuses on the historical district of the city of Pristina. It focuses on the changes of the city of Pristina in the time-space context, while the cultural heritage of the city is treated in relation to the urban whole. In this context, within the scope of Urban Protection - Cultural Heritage - Urban Identity - Planning relations, it is aimed to identify the problems related to the conservation of the historical city center of Pristina and to develop suggestions for the protection of the urban sites and cultural heritage