Neo-Liberal Urban Politics in the Historical Environment of Istanbul - The Issue of Gentrification

This paper will focus on the renovation and regeneration projects, and also on the gentrification concept in regards to neoliberal urban politics in the historic neighbourhoods of Istanbul. How neoliberal urban politics affect the process of urban renovation and gentrification in historic neighbourhoods? Examining the diverse and complex relationships between regeneration, renovation projects and gentrification processes and in addition to these, one of the main aspects of the present study is to understand why in certain cities gentrification occurs after renovation and regeneration projects. To investigate these points, changes in Turkish economic and housing system will be studied to understand the dynamics that affect Istanbul. In this part, also, a particular attention will be provided to the gentrified neighbourhoods in the historic part of Istanbul. Before the 2000s, gentrification through private housing market was the case in Istanbul, but from the 2000s stateled gentrification started to become more common. The reason behind the increase of state intervention and involvement in gentrification from the 2000s will represent a key aspect to investigation.