Istanbul Time Machine: Socio-Spatial and 3D Reconstruction of Historic Peninsula Neighborhoods (1880–1920)

Overview

3D / 4D modelling and reconstruction Digital Humanities GIS / HGIS Machine Learning Natural language processing (NLP) OCR / HTR Newspapers and magazines Urban History

The Istanbul Time Machine: Socio-Spatial and 3D Reconstruction of Historic Peninsula Neighborhoods (1880–1920) is a digital humanities initiative that aims to reconstruct late Ottoman Istanbul (ca. 1880–1920) through the integration of spatial and textual data within a dynamic digital environment.

The project is conducted under the Humanities DataLab at the Institute of Population and Social Research, Marmara University, bringing together expertise in digital humanities, urban history, and spatial analysis.

The project follows a two-phase approach. In the first phase, historical data is collected, digitized, and structured from textual and cartographic sources. In the second phase, these datasets are integrated into a unified spatial framework and linked to a three-dimensional representation of selected urban areas.

The resulting platform is designed as an interactive environment that enables the exploration of historical urban data across space and time. By connecting textual information with spatial context, the project supports new forms of research on urban processes and historical dynamics.

The Istanbul Time Machine contributes to the Time Machine network by providing a scalable model for historical urban data integration and by offering a comprehensive dataset from a key trans-imperial metropolis.

Project partners