The Pattern and Process of Urban Social Exclusion in Istanbul: Relations between Urban Policy, Space and Society

This book investigates the radical changes in urban policy which has taken place in Turkey since the year 2000. The main argument of the book is to examine whether the recent urban regeneration projects in Istanbul, targeting gecekondu settlements, historical and dilapidated areas in the city centre, will lead social exclusion of the dwellers or not. These are theorised in terms of changes in the relationship between state, space and society. The approach of the book understands space (territory, distance, scale), not as given, but as an active part of social relations of their construction. This premise carries changes in urban policy, empowering of central state institutions and the resistance of the dwellers of urban regeneration areas as a whole process.

Ozlem Celik is a PhD researcher in the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Sheffield. Her recent work focuses on the changing forms and strategies of state intervention with respect to the housing of the poor in Istanbul.