ABSTRACT
By drawing the contingencies, diverse institutional and organizational processes, and
creative and destructive moments into the frame of analysis, this paper has demonstrated
that path dependence can be a useful vantage point from which to compare systems of
planning and territorial governance. The hybrid development process of the Levent-
Maslak axis has been presented as an empirical testing ground for analysing path depen-
dence. The process is referred to as “hybrid” since the development of the axis exhibits a
complex of localized processes that are associated with local trajectories of change and
contingent events that are intertwined in intricate ways. General processes such as globa-
lization or neo-liberalization commonly influence the development of a new CBD, but
specific ones (contingent events such as a mayoral election or a military coup) could
easily cause decisions and developments to take a different course.
