ABSTRACT
In the last three decades, Istanbul has become the object of an ambitious operation of urban renewal through the construction of residence complexes, shopping malls, real estate development projects, colossal luxury hotels, and gated communities. Several grand scale projects are currently taking place, such as Galataport Project, Halic Shipyard Renovation Project, Haydarpasa Railway Station Urban Redevelopment Project, that aim at transforming the old urban areas to new and modern spaces. The gecekondu2 (squatter) areas are also reconstructed through these urban renewal projects, and urban space is constantly reconfigured and rebuilt in the most populated districts of Istanbul, including Ayazma and Tepeustu in Kucukcekmece, Basibuyuk in Maltepe, the area north of the E5 freeway in Kartal, Fikirtepe in Kadikoy, Sulukule in Fatih, and Tarlabasi in Beyoglu districts (Bartu Candan and Kolluoglu 2008; Bartu Candan and Ozbay 2014; Keyder 1999; Kuyucu and Unsal 2010). New rhetoric, discourses, concepts, and politics with respect to urban space began to be disseminated through the actors of the central government, as well as local political actors such as municipalities (Aksoy 2012).
