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Description
This study focuses on the layers of the urban transformation in one of the most central and valued areas of Istanbul. Bomonti with its unique history offers a site where the impacts of political economy of the various eras can be read. Influenced by global production and consumption dynamics, as well as central and local land use decisions, Bomonti has undergone a dramatic transformation over time. While in the 1960s the area was recognized as the most dense industrial region in İstanbul (Tümertekin, 1967), today it stands out as a quintessential post-industrial scene with rising business centers, residences, and entertainment. Meanwhile, the garment industry has clustered in its northern part, ensuring the continuity of production dynamics. This study aims to examine this transformation through the lens of the "street". By employing a creative research methodology, the study analyzes the commercial character of the specific streets at different times in the history and reveals the manifestations of economic policies on the ‘pavements’.
In urban studies literature, it is frequently emphasized that the production of urban space for upper classes through plans, policies, and projects has become a central strategy of neoliberal urbanization (Brenner and Theodore, 2005). However, the upscaling of urban spaces is often analyzed through residential areas, with a special focus on luxury housing. Yet, urban transformation is also materialized and experienced on the “sidewalks” of neighborhoods (Patch, 2008). Although streets and their commercial character are crucial both as a reflection and also as a fundamental element of urban life, they are often taken for granted (Zukin et all, 2016). Streets can be said to be both the product and the victim of urbanization (Hartanti and Martokusumo, 2012). Based on this literature gap, the study’s main concern is what streets reveal about the interplay between the macro and micro dynamics when considered as an arena of interplay. For this aim, the main transforming policies of each urbanization era and the character of the streets are analyzed; and put a special focus on today’s streetscape. Through the lense of the commercial landscape of a street, how the political economy of an era is manifested on the streets is revealed.
In the study, the policies and land use decisions of each era is categorized based on the secondary literature and planning documents. To determine the uses of the street and its commercial character historically, mainly the aerial photos and adress directories were used. Bomonti is a neighborhood comprised of different identity zones. The streets were chosen in line with zones. Using 1941 and 1987 city adress books and aerial photographs, it is possible to see the land uses, the industrial and commercial businesses of different historical eras. As for the contemporary transformation, google map street function was used. 2013 and 2023 streetview was utilized based on the type of economic activity. They were analyzed quantitatively.
Bomonti streets are unique in the sense that they reflect the important breakthroughs in the mode of production. As an inner city neighbourhood, streets show the clash between different land uses and economic activities throught the time. Especially the recent transformation of Bomonti as a result of a central decision declaring here a “Tourism District” has a dramatic effect on the character of the neighbourhood, reflected on the streets. Yet the existence of the old and the new; the production and consumption clearly show that the transformation of urban space is a never ending process open to the possibilities.
References
Brenner, N. and Theodore, N. (2005) Neoliberalism and the urban condition. City, 9(1), pp.101-107.
Hartanti, N.B. and Martokusumo, W. (2012) Streetscape connectivity and the making of urban identity. In Proceeding Of Arte-Polis-4 International Conference.
Patch, J. (2008) “Ladies and gentrification”: New stores, residents, and relationships in neighborhood change. In Gender in an urban world (pp. 103-126). Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Tümertekin, E. (1967) İstanbul’da bir sanayi bölgesi 1967. İstanbul: İstanbul Üniversitesi Coğrafya Enstitüsü Yayınları
Zukin, S. (2016) Gentrification in three paradoxes. City & Community, 15(3), pp.202-207.
| Keywords | urban transformation, commercial landscape, Bomonti |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
