Investigating the Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Businesses in Istanbul

Commercial enterprises are considered to be one of the determining actors in shaping the economic and socio-spatial structure of cities. The transformation of businesses in Istanbul over time has been examined in different periods and at various scales. However, studies that address all business types from a long-term and spatial perspective are quite limited. In this context, the temporal and spatial change dynamics of approximately 450 thousand enterprises operating in Istanbul province in the seventy-five-year period between 1950 and 2025 were analyzed. Data obtained from the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce was geocoded and evaluated using space-time mining tools. As a result of this study, it was seen that Istanbul had a single-centered structure in the period of 1950–1980 and that this structure has had a single-centered structure since the 1980s. The study evaluates the transformation processes in question not only on a macro scale but also on a micro scale, allowing for a detailed analysis of the spatial patterns of commercial activities.