Is it possible to plan displacement-free urban renewal? A comparative analysis of the national urban renewal program in Turkey

Ay, Deniz

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/95469 Copy

Description

Title

Is it possible to plan displacement-free urban renewal? A comparative analysis of the national urban renewal program in Turkey

Author(s)

Ay, Deniz

Issue Date

2016-11-28

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Olshansky, Rob

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Hewings, Geoffrey J.

Committee Member(s)

• Bayat, Asef
• Greenlee, Andrew

Department of Study

Urban & Regional Planning

Discipline

Regional Planning

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Displacement
• Urban Renewal
• Turkey

Abstract

This is a study of development-induced displacement in the urban context. It explores the planning environment that shapes the ostensibly well-intentioned development projects that often displace existing residents from their established living spaces. This study frames development- induced displacement as a “paradox of public interest” because displacing some members of the public is often justified with a certain conception of public interest. Policies, programs and particular projects pursued under the name of development may distribute the costs and benefits of “development” unevenly, thus, development does not necessarily benefit everyone in the same way. There is one big research question that motivates this dissertation: Is it possible for urban redevelopment to occur in the existing residents’ terms that actually benefit them? If not, what are the obstacles to that occurring? This dissertation focuses on Turkey’s ongoing urban redevelopment program as an extreme case regarding the scope of the renewal policy and the scale of the redevelopment targets chased under a complex legislation. A comparative analysis is conducted to explore the urban renewal program implementation in three second-tier cities (Adana, Bursa, and Izmir). The study investigates the dynamics that shape urban renewal projects’ displacement pressures and the affected communities’ varying responses to these dynamics. This study finds that the planning environment of development-induced displacement is shaped by competition or cohesion between government tiers, tenure structures in designated renewal areas, and the local economic dynamics. Also, governance of renewal projects plays a major role in constructing displacement pressures that destabilize the established communities living in designated renewal areas. Alternative planning vision to address development-induced displacement in cities can rise only if planning practice aims local residents’ meaningful participation in the process. In order to solve the “paradox of public interest” generated by the development-induced displacement, planners and communities need to focus on forming alliances to resist and overcome the hegemony of exclusionary development projects.

Graduation Semester

2016-12

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/95469

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2016 Deniz Ay

Owning Collections