Neo-liberalism and the future of place marketing

Globalisation Reflected onto Architecture: Tall Buildings of Ankara-Turkey

“…In this process, new capitalism attracts fluid capital (money capital) and big (global) capital groups directly to construction investments. [3,4,5] Cities, transformed into the most profitable investment areas for the unearned income sector so as to become the most effective field for this process [6] are expanding explosively everywhere through high-rise buildings that provide the highest unearned income horizontally at urban peripheries that especially provide cheap land and by transforming the horizontal into the vertical. Hence, in today's world, and, therefore, in today's Turkey, capital renders urban planning disreputable, and by regarding architecture dissimilar to other markets, it reshapes it by dragging it into global competition.…”

“…The urban space, as a result, is reshaped through prestigeproviding buildings branded by their height or iconic designs, marketing a "new living-consumption style" by the slogan "concept projects." The spaces of this new life style, such as "plaza" offices, "gated community" residences, "residence" buildings, "mall" shopping markets, "boutique" hotels and the widespread "mixed-use" complexes, are designed in the form of high-rise or tall buildings, thereby rendering globalisation visible in the city and transforming into landmarks [3,4]. To have or to seem as having prestige and vision, the urbanites are dictated to take up space in this modern landmark or in these buildings.…”

“…Homogenization is mostly actualized at highrise, high-status corporate office, hotel and residence towers at new urban areas or centres created through the new (global) vision of urban development by means of the support or even partnership of global powers and the local elite with economic and political power. Star architects who develop this symbiotic 4 relation with this commercial architecture that is becoming globalized design buildings that will become the signs of the city's competitive image. As such, architects attach importance to applying or closing in global architectural patterns rather than the society's (not) internalizing the structured environment to which they have added new meanings.…”

“…Through multi-functional high-rises that structurally and spatially signified this change in the structure of capital at the urban level, new central business or living spaces are created and, as such, urban transformation is made to gain legitimacy. The high-rises at the core of this development are marketed through effective and widespread strategies based on the appeal of this new (global) life style [3,4].…”

Urbaanit yleisöt propagandan ja brändäyksen palveluksessa

“…Kriittisten sosiologien ja kaupunkitutkijoiden mukaan kilpailueetoksessa tilojen "kokonaisvaltaiset" brändäysprojektit johtavat kuitenkin eitoivottujen ilmiöiden ja ihmisryhmien ulossulkemiseen (ks. Hannigan 2003;Mayes 2008;Eisenschitz 2010). Näkemyserot palautuvat osittain siihen, miten paikat ymmär-retään spatiaalisina kokonaisuuksina.…”