Home Environment Appropriation: Syrian Migrants in Sultanbeyli, Istanbul

Syrians have been fleeing to Turkey since 2011 due to the ongoing civil war and conflict in Syria. This study focuses on displaced and forcibly migrated Syrians’ practices of appropriation in the process of remaking home. The purpose of the study is to define means of appropriation regarding Syrians’ cultural, psychological, and spatial needs for their residential interiors during relocation. Thus, Sultanbeyli, a district of Istanbul, was exemplified as a case. The data were obtained from volunteer Syrian families in their home environments through visual methods and interviews. According to the results, appropriation has a crucial role in meeting Syrians’ needs for personalization, reflection of identity, belonging to a particular place, and self-expression of both communal and individual spatial and object-based placements. This study intends to generate and disseminate new knowledge for designers, researchers, policymakers, and the public regarding Syrians’ appropriation needs to provide more livable and supportive living environments.