Political Dilemmas in the Making of a Sustainable City-Region: The Case of Istanbul

Abstract

This article aims to explore the political dilemmas of sustainable metropolitan development marked by intense tensions between ecology and economy within the context of neoliberal urban policies over the Case of Istanbul, Turkey. It investigates the re-scaling and centralization of the state in directing the investment capital and focuses on the ways in which it reregulates and loosens the institutions to create exceptionalities in order to realize mega projects. It examines Canal Istanbul and the “New City” or the Yenişehir Project, the so-called “crazy project” imposed upon the city by the central government, which presents a crucial case demonstrating the processes of creating exceptionalities and the erosion of public norms. Empirically, drawing from the Turkish experience through an in-depth analysis of policy documents, plans and reports prepared by a variety of agents, the article demonstrates and discusses different modalities of creating exceptions to capitalize on the lucrative real estate markets through mega projects in an increasingly authoritarian neoliberal context, its ramifications on the existing norms and the oppositions it raised. The article concludes with a discussion on how the new political climate that moved away from subsidiarity, transparency and democratic participation, and became increasingly centralized, created an impasse for planning and that neither the ecology nor the economy could be protected and enhanced. Although economic development discourse is used to legitimize these mega projects, it is obvious that they lead to an ecocide.

Imagining Decent Work towards a Green Future in a Former Forest Village of the City of Istanbul

“…Along with ecological change, all local activities of self-sustenance in Ömerli retreated as the capitalist urban expansion of the city gained momentum from the mid-20th century, culminating in the rent-producing relationships and the authoritarian developmentalist agenda of the government in the last two decades. (Enlil and Dinçer 2022). This transformation resulted in proletarianisation of the former villagers who turned into service providers for middle-class gated communities.…”

“…Environmental damage to Istanbul's forests gains momentum with neoliberal policies, resulting in "mega projects" of rent generation such as the Third Bridge, the Istanbul Airport, Northern Marmara Highway, and Canal Istanbul, all occupying vast areas of northern Istanbul. These top-down projects not only play an instrumental role in the commodification of the state-owned lands, but they also give way to increasing socio-spatial problems, urban inequalities, and social segregation due to new luxury housing areas erected on privatised lands (Aysev 2022;Enlil and Dinçer 2022;Geniş 2007).…”

Foreign experience in organizing state and business relationship and its impact on urbanization

“…В России также имеют место похожие наработки (Krasilnikova, Klimov, 2020), однако они пока не обрели массового характера и не пользуются активной государственной поддержкой. В то же время отдельные ученые отмечают и негативное воздействие государственного участия на городское планирование (Enlil, Dinçer, 2022).…”

Neoliberal Urban Development vs. Rural Communities: Land Management Challenges in San Andrés Cholula, Mexico

“…Neoliberal urbanism frequently adopts different forms, as Enlil and Dinçer [14] mention, engendering "a process in which relations between the state and the economy are reconstituted and state institutions become the prime agents in promoting market-based regulatory arrangements". Thus, neoliberal policies tend to lead to the emergence of powerful actors with divergent interests on urban land, triggering political pressures and authoritarian state interventions.…”

“…As a consequence, new urban policies promote the urbanization based on the exploitation of highly speculative urban land and the commodification of urban space through privatization. The result is a profit-oriented urban development at the expense of the social good promoted by hegemonic power relations in a neoliberal context [14]. Finally, in the case that the urban border regions are occupied by rural communities, the neoliberal land speculation and real estate business may trigger a de-agrarianization and a reduction in agricultural activities.…”