ABSTRACT
Istanbul is unique among European cities: It is a mega-city with a population of 10 to 15 million, 50% of its residents live in informal housing (Leitmann & Baharoglu, 1999), and it is located in both Europe and Asia. These converging factors provide an interesting milieu for studying urbanism and open space. In particular, Istanbul’s informal settlements provide a distinctive glimpse into emergent urban social spaces that are at once part of rural tradition (i.e., Anatolian village culture) and urban culture (i.e., modern Istanbul). These informal settlements contain user-built open spaces that host flexible and active sharing and interacting.
