Disaster Memory and Place Attachment in Neighborhoods Affected by the 1999 Gölcük Earthquake: Implications for Sustainable Urban Resilience in İzmit, Kocaeli, Türkiye

In societies with a high incidence of disasters, disaster preparedness is closely linked to risk awareness and social resilience, with disaster memory and place attachment playing a central role. This study examines these relationships in the Kadıköy and Mehmet Ali Paşa neighborhoods of İzmit, Türkiye, which were severely affected by the 1999 Gölcük Earthquake. Semi-structured interviews with 36 participants were analyzed in MAXQDA Analytics Pro using a qualitative descriptive design and a combined deductive–inductive coding approach. The findings show that the decision to remain in high-risk neighborhoods is shaped not only by economic constraints but also by place attachment, social relationships, neighborhood identity, and everyday life practices. Although earthquake awareness was high, it rarely translated into concrete preparedness behaviors. Strong place attachment reinforced collective memory and social solidarity while also coexisting with the normalization of risk and the postponement of preparedness. In addition, weak social interaction between long-term residents and newcomers limited the transmission of disaster memory. These findings have implications for sustainable urban resilience by highlighting the importance of integrating social memory, neighborhood-level participation, and preparedness into long-term approaches to urban transformation and disaster risk reduction.