Mapping the unseen: recovering living heritage & supporting community-led relocation through data
- Location: Antakya, Türkiye
- Date: 2025
- Programme: Change by Design
- Project Partners: Sivil Düsler Dernegi (Civic Dreams Association), UCL Development Planning Unit, UCL Department of Risk Disaster Reduction, ASF-UK
- Activities: Learning and Capacity Building/Socio Technical Support
The Mapping the Unseen project aims to gather knowledge and information about the way of life of the Dom in Antakya, a community that has lived in the city for over 60 years before being displaced by the 2023 earthquakes. In collaboration with SDD and UCL departments, the project aimed to first document the former and present living spaces of the Dom in Antakya’s city centre; and second to build a body of evidence that can support the community in negotiating with authorities for fair and culturally appropriate relocation.
We worked with the Dom community in a hybrid data-empowered approach, through workshops with 25 members of the community along with surveying 75 households. Through mapping and visualising how the Dom in Antakya once lived we could identify the places and elements that hold value to them and which they wish to evolve into the future.
In collaboration with our partners we were able to identify key challenges such as affordability, connectivity and cultural regeneration. This includes a strong wish to stay together in order to sustain their way of life and culture as well as the use of their Domari mother tongue.
To advocate for the marginalized minority in Antakya, we focused on gathering and visualising knowledge that can support advocacy for living spaces reflecting the community’s culture, practices and needs.
