Transforming buildings, reorienting lives: the desire for gentrification in Istanbul

Özbay, Cenk (2024) Transforming buildings, reorienting lives: the desire for gentrification in Istanbul. Urban Geography, 45 (3). pp. 411-432. ISSN 0272-3638 (Print) 1938-2847 (Online)

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Abstract

How do the marginalized middle-lower-class residents of a neighborhood yearn for and participate in gentrification? In Istanbul, the low-quality building stock and risk of earthquakes intensifies the need for urban transformation, making it seem inevitable and desirable. This article focuses on the experience of gentrification in the Hasanpaşa neighborhood of Istanbul, using an intersectional lens to discuss how the locals, who cultivate a reorienting agency, give consent and aspire for urban change. A form of aspirational normativity emerges among the locals, driving the positive affect around the ideal and materiality of renewal – exemplified by the transformation of an abandoned power plant into a cultural complex. The case of Hasanpaşa shows that we need to take into account the different starting points, multiple contextual features, and intersecting social positions in order to have a more complete understanding of the landscapes of urban change.
Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: affect; class; Gentrification; Istanbul; neighborhood; urban transformation
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races > HT0101-395 Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology
H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races > HT0361-384 Urbanization. City and country
H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races > HT0601-1445 Classes
Divisions: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Academic programs > Cultural Studies
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Academic programs > Turkish Studies
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Depositing User: Cenk Özbay
Date Deposited: 23 May 2024 09:55
Last Modified: 23 May 2024 09:55
URI: https://research.sabanciuniv.edu/id/eprint/49248

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