Review

Ghostly places: On the psychogeography of melancholy, memory, and abandonment

Number: 50 December 31, 2025
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Ghostly places: On the psychogeography of melancholy, memory, and abandonment

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of spatial melancholy produced by abandoned, dilapidated, or unfinished buildings. Within the scope of the study, a thematic content analysis was conducted based on theories related to the social production of space and the theory of affect, and four selected case study areas – Kayaköy (forced migration), Pripyat (nuclear disaster), Detroit Packard Factory (deindustrialization), and Burj Al Babas (speculative construction) – were systematically evaluated. In each example, the melancholic quality is made visible through the axes of spatial/representational signs, narrative/memory, and socio-spatial processes. The findings reveal that these spaces should be considered not only as an aesthetic “landscape of destruction,” but also as representational spaces of disrupted historical continuities, collective memory fractures, and socio-spatial transformations. In the conclusion section, the balance between ruin aesthetics and critical awareness is discussed, and practical recommendations are developed in the context of memory-sensitive design, adaptive reuse, controlled access, and representation ethics. The study examines how spatial melancholy is constructed in different geographies from a comparative perspective, and prepares the ground for discussing this phenomenon in the fields of architecture, urban design, and cultural heritage.

Keywords

References

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  3. Albeyboni, B., & Raswol, L. (2025). The impact of historic built environment on residents’ emotional experiences: Duhok as a case study. Journal of Umm Al-Qura University for Engineering and Architecture, 16, 162–171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43995-025-00098-0
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  6. Bakota, D., Machowski, R., Płomiński, A., Ramanchuk, A., Rzętała, M., & Zastavetska, L. (2020). The disaster as a factor in the development of modern tourism: A study case based on the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, 11(7), 1729–1741. https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.11.7(47).14
  7. Benjamin, W. (1998). The origin of German tragic drama (J. Osborne, Trans.). Verso. (Original work published 1928)
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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Urban Aesthetics

Journal Section

Review

Publication Date

December 31, 2025

Submission Date

April 19, 2025

Acceptance Date

November 6, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Number: 50

APA
Akdağ, F. (2025). Ghostly places: On the psychogeography of melancholy, memory, and abandonment. İDEALKENT, 50, 497-533. https://doi.org/10.31198/idealkent.1679698
AMA
1.Akdağ F. Ghostly places: On the psychogeography of melancholy, memory, and abandonment. İDEALKENT. 2025;(50):497-533. doi:10.31198/idealkent.1679698
Chicago
Akdağ, Fazıl. 2025. “Ghostly Places: On the Psychogeography of Melancholy, Memory, and Abandonment”. İDEALKENT, nos. 50: 497-533. https://doi.org/10.31198/idealkent.1679698.
EndNote
Akdağ F (December 1, 2025) Ghostly places: On the psychogeography of melancholy, memory, and abandonment. İDEALKENT 50 497–533.
IEEE
[1]F. Akdağ, “Ghostly places: On the psychogeography of melancholy, memory, and abandonment”, İDEALKENT, no. 50, pp. 497–533, Dec. 2025, doi: 10.31198/idealkent.1679698.
ISNAD
Akdağ, Fazıl. “Ghostly Places: On the Psychogeography of Melancholy, Memory, and Abandonment”. İDEALKENT. 50 (December 1, 2025): 497-533. https://doi.org/10.31198/idealkent.1679698.
JAMA
1.Akdağ F. Ghostly places: On the psychogeography of melancholy, memory, and abandonment. İDEALKENT. 2025;:497–533.
MLA
Akdağ, Fazıl. “Ghostly Places: On the Psychogeography of Melancholy, Memory, and Abandonment”. İDEALKENT, no. 50, Dec. 2025, pp. 497-33, doi:10.31198/idealkent.1679698.
Vancouver
1.Fazıl Akdağ. Ghostly places: On the psychogeography of melancholy, memory, and abandonment. İDEALKENT. 2025 Dec. 1;(50):497-533. doi:10.31198/idealkent.1679698