Integrating Cultural Heritage into Sustainable Disaster Risk Reduction: A GIS-Based Multi-Hazard Assessment of Ferhatpaşa Mosque, Istanbul
Sustainability (Switzerland), vol.18, no.13, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 18 Issue: 13
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.3390/su18136502
- Journal Name: Sustainability (Switzerland)
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, CAB Abstracts, Geobase, INSPEC
- Keywords: cultural heritage, disaster resilient planning, disaster risk, GIS, risk management
- Yıldız Technical University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Cultural heritage assets in seismic metropolitan regions are increasingly exposed to interacting natural hazards, yet disaster risk assessments for historic buildings often remain limited to single-hazard interpretations. This study addresses this gap by developing a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based multi-hazard risk assessment for Ferhatpaşa Mosque, a sixteenth-century Ottoman heritage asset located in Çatalca, Istanbul. Eight spatial parameters were evaluated at the neighborhood scale: slope, elevation, aspect, precipitation, distance to fault lines, distance to hydrological features, land use, and soil capability. The model was developed through Weighted Overlay analysis and interdisciplinary expert-based weighting. Distance to fault lines and precipitation received the highest weights, each accounting for 17.22% of the model, followed by distance to hydrological features and soil capability, each weighted at 13.89%. The final risk map classified 71.99% of the study area as medium risk, 28% as low risk, and 0.02% as high risk. Ferhatpaşa Mosque was located within the medium-risk zone, approximately 29,600 m from active fault lines, 250 m from the nearest dry streambed, 800 m from the nearest stream, and 320 m from the nearest high-risk zone. These findings demonstrate that the mosque’s risk profile is shaped not by seismic proximity alone, but by the cumulative interaction of topography, precipitation, hydrology, soil conditions, and land-use characteristics. The proposed model provides a spatial decision-support framework for integrating cultural heritage conservation into sustainable disaster risk reduction and local risk mitigation planning.