Research Article / Araştırma Makalesi Cite as/ Atıf: Hardal, S. (2021). Kent kimliğini oluşturan coğrafi unsurların değerlendirilmesi: Niksar örneği (Tokat). Turkish Studies - Social, 16(2), 593-613. https://dx.doi.org/10.47356/TurkishStudies.49777 Received/Geliş: 03 Marc/Mart.2021 Checked by plagiarism software Accepted/Kabul: 25 April/Nisan 2021 Published/Yayın: 30 April/Nisan 2021 CC BY-NC 4.0 Kent Kimliğini Oluşturan Coğrafi Unsurların Değerlendirilmesi: Niksar Örneği (Tokat ) * The Evaluation of the Geographical Elements That Make the Urban Identity: The Sample of Niksar (Tokat) Seçkin Hardal ** Abstract: Cities have gained an identity according to their geographical, historical, cultural and functional characteristics since the time they were founded. The Industrial Revolution and globalization have had negative effects on urban identities, and cities have begun to lose their descriptive identity. However, cities with a deep- rooted history and growing slowly outside of the globalization network continued to preserve their identity characteristics. Niksar, which constitutes the field of study, also has a long history and natural geographical features. The main purpose of the study is to reveal the elements that make up the urban identity of Niksar, which has an important historical texture, and how Niksar is perceived by the people living in Niksar. For this purpose, a questionnaire was applied to 102 people in Niksar city center, and also the logos of official institutions and organizations in Niksar were examined. The obtained data were analyzed and the questionnaires were transferred to the computer environment with the SPSS program, and the results were interpreted by performing frequency analysis. As a result of the field studies, it is seen that the main place that symbolizes Niksar, which is described as "culture city", is Niksar Castle. This situation is also emphasized in the logos of official institutions. Natural environmental characteristics of Niksar, which also has the feature of "agricultural city", are among the factors that determine its identity. In this context, conserving the identity of cities is extremely important for the residents to feel belonging and to be satisfied with the place they live in. In the city planning studies to be carried out, the textures that constitute the urban identity should be preserved, and the elements that constitute the urban identity should be taken into consideration when planning new roads and residential areas. Otherwise, it is inevitable that ordinary spaces far from their identity will emerge. Structured Abstract: Intrduction Identity; “It is defined as the whole of the conditions that enable one to be a certain person with the signs, qualities and characteristics peculiar to the human being as a social being” (TDK, 2000: 577). Urban identity, on the other hand, is defined as the reflection of the natural and cultural characteristics of a city on the social, economic and cultural functions of the city and all the distinctive features resulting from this reflection (Keleş, 1998: 77-78; Aliağaoğlu & Mirioğlu, 2020). * Bu çalışma, II. Uluslararası Sosyal Bilimler Kongresi'nde sunulan “Şehir Coğrafyası Açısından Kent Kimliği: Niksar Örneği” başlıklı bildirinin genişletilmiş halidir. Çalışmada kullanılan anket formunun etik kurul raporu Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi Sosyal ve Beşerî Bilimler Araştırmaları Etik Kurulunun 23.06.2020 tarihli 09. oturumunda 09.07 sayılı kararı ile alınmıştır ** Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, Coğrafya Bölümü Assist. Prof. Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Geography 0000-0001-6185-5991 seckin.hardal@gop.edu.tr