International Journal of Urban Management and Energy Sustainability

International Journal of Urban Management and Energy Sustainability

A Comparative Analysis of Management Approaches in the Revitalization of Historical Bathhouses: Istanbul and Khorasan Razavi

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Reza Enayati 1
Mohsen Tabassi 1
Hadi Sarvari 2
1 Department of Architecture, Ma.C., Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
2 Department of Urban Planning, Ma.C., Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
10.22034/ijumes.2026.2046675.1278
Abstract
Historical bathhouses (hammams) in Islamic lands, beyond their hygienic and ritual functions, carry dense social and cultural layers, yet the decline of their original function has turned their revitalization into a management problem rather than a purely technical one. This study compares how that problem is managed in two contrasting institutional settings and asks what each can learn from the other. The study adopts a qualitative comparative multiple-case design (Yin, 2018) following a most-different-systems logic. Ten purposively selected bathhouses five in Istanbul, Türkiye, and five in Khorasan Razavi, Iran are analyzed against six management indicators derived from conservation doctrine and the adaptive-reuse literature: institutional–social participation, functional revitalization, physical authenticity and spatial integrity, compliance with conservation standards, monitoring and control, and managerial–economic sustainability. Each case is rated on an explicit four-level rubric using triangulated documentary, technical and field evidence. Findings show, the two settings diverge systematically. The Istanbul cases score higher on functional revitalization, compliance and economic sustainability, sustained by public–private partnership finance, digital survey and modelling technologies, and integration with the tourism economy, but they carry the risk of over-commercialization. The Khorasan Razavi cases retain material authenticity through minimal intervention, vernacular materials and public stewardship, and sustain a strong cultural and ritual bond, but are constrained by financial fragility, weak monitoring and the absence of comprehensive adaptive-reuse planning. The results show transferable scoring rubric for bathhouse revitalization management and an integrated model that treats historical authenticity and economic viability as jointly binding constraints mediated by a values-based judgement, rather than as a trade-off along a single axis.

Graphical Abstract

A Comparative Analysis of Management Approaches in the Revitalization of Historical Bathhouses: Istanbul and Khorasan Razavi

Highlights

·         Ten Ottoman and Iranian bathhouses are compared on six management indicators.

·         An explicit four-level rubric makes revitalization ratings replicable.

·         Istanbul leads on monitoring and finance; Khorasan on material authenticity.

·         Community participation is higher in Iran, against initial expectations.

·         Authenticity and viability are modelled as jointly binding constraints.

Keywords
Adaptive reuse
comparative case study
cultural heritage management
historical bathhouses
hammam
Istanbul
Khorasan Razavi
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International Journal of Urban Management and Energy Sustainability

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 18 July 2026

  • Receive Date 07 January 2025
  • Revise Date 15 April 2026
  • Accept Date 18 July 2026