The Work of a Few Trees: Gezi, Politics and Space

Abstract

International audienceIn June 2013, Istanbul and many cities across Turkey became stages of massive demonstrations and occupations, which were sparked by a conflict over Gezi Park in central Istanbul. For many, the ‘park issue’ was simply the last straw, and it led to unprecedented revolt, reflecting a huge number of grievances against the government for some, while for others it emphasized the impoverishing consequences of the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP’s) urban policies. Instead of disentangling causes and effects, we think that a productive way of approaching the oppositional surge that erupted in Gezi Park is through the political work that space does in the context of the increasing prominence of speculation-driven and authoritarian interventions in urban spaces. Gezi, as an event, not only disrupted the routinized scripts of an increasingly autocratic government and defied the presumed consensus over real-estate and infrastructure-led economic growth policies, but also helped to articulate a series of political agendas across the urban–rural continuum that came before it. Even after the occupation, the Gezi spirit continued to politicize space through various de-localizations. By elaborating on a particular phrase popularized during Gezi, namely yaşam alanı (life space), the article discusses how the riot’s political impact deepened and expanded not only through defending a space but also by creating new ones, both materially and conceptually

Fragmentation in Urban Movements: The Role of Urban Planning Processes

“…While the literature on urban movements underlines the importance of these insurgencies as politicized struggles against neoliberal urban restructuring, in recent years there has been growing concern over the outcomes of urban movements as well as the rapid fading away of urban insurgencies such as the Occupy movement and Gezi Park protests (Swyngedouw, ; Erensü and Karaman, ; García‐Lamarca, ). This suggests an urgent need to understand the nature of contemporary urban movements, the constraints and challenges they face, and the emerging fragmentations within them (Mayer, ; ; ; Uitermark, ; Lier and Stokke, ; Sites, ; Iveson, ), besides their potential to bring alternative solutions for urban issues to those imposed by the authorities, all of which define whether they are potential political actors or not.…”

Collaboration Of Triple Helix Actors In The Production Of Public Space: The Tematic Park In Bandung

“…There are different perspectives in some researchs; one of the research is (Erensü, S., & Karaman, 2017) about the existence of life space in the case of Gezi in Turkey. The article shows the impact of political unrest deepens and develops not only through maintaining space but also creating new material and conceptual.…”

“…The article shows the impact of political unrest deepens and develops not only through maintaining space but also creating new material and conceptual. (Erensü, S., & Karaman, 2017) refer to Lefebvre and Harvey. The article mentioned that under the leadership of the AKP party in authoritarianistic Turkey, intervention in space was so obvious.…”

People and urban nature: the environmentalization of social movements in Bogotá

“…Agrawal 2005;Buttel 1992). Therefore, debates around social movements and urban nature can contribute to increasing interest in recent uprisings elsewhere that are related to urbanization (Dikeç and Swyngedouw 2017;Erensü and Karaman 2017;Merrifield 2013). Environmental issues have also been co-opted by transnational capitalism whose sustainability agenda, including urbanization, is biased toward market-based approaches (Allen et al 2016).…”