ABSTRACT
During the first decade of the new century Istanbul appeared confident and prospering. There were blocks of newly erected high-rise office buildings, luxury residential compounds and towers, and dozens of shopping malls offering global wares. The city centre was beautified and prepared to anchor global networks. Gentrification of the Beyoùlu area and the historic peninsula, as well as the rebuilding of the waterfront around the Golden Horn, created new spaces of leisure and culture. A feverish pace of projects and plans, all designed to enhance Istanbul’s standing in the global sweepstakes for investment, revenue and culture, coincided with the preparations for the coveted status of 2010 European Capital of Culture. By the standards of city marketing worldwide, Istanbul was a success story.
