Neighbourhood in transition: Exploring the Ottoman heritage of Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

The presence of globalisation trends has resulted in an increasing demand for environments that pose unique cultural experiences. Consequently, resorting to preservation of traditional urban fabric and the rewriting of history, as forms of self-definition, is becoming a widespread practice. In this context, the study of traditional urban neighbourhoods is of particular significance since they could be read as historic artefacts — narratives grounded in once prevailing cultural, political and social discourses. The case study presented and evaluated in this paper aims to produce a comprehensive understanding of the urban neighbourhood — mahala — established by the Ottomans in the 15th century in the city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Contrary to the traditional mahala, as a well-established neighbourhood model, changes that occurred in the last decade have drastically altered the urban pattern of this residential settlement. It is from this perspective that the paper contributes to the debate on sustainable development of urban neighbourhoods. Through examination of the inner dynamics of mahalas, the paper calls for the establishment of novel understanding of the role of tradition and heritage in the creation of contemporary social and spatial relationships. Finally, it discusses the value of an inherited neighbourhood by offering future directions and measures, which could be launched in order to sustain the mahala’s transformation towards a sustainable residential neighbourhood model.