an exploration of two gated communities in istanbul

324 Pages·2012·1.62 MB·English

BASAK TANULKU

BA, MA

AN EXPLORATION OF TWO GATED

COMMUNITIES

IN ISTANBUL

Ph.D. THESIS SUBMITTED TO
LANCASTER UNIVERSITY

OCTOBER 2009

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I dedicate this thesis to my mother and father...

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I, Basak Tanulku, declare that this thesis is my own work, and this is not submitted elsewhere
for the award of a higher degree.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (REMOVED)

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ABSTRACT
In the process of globalisation, big cities in Turkey have witnessed the emergence of
gated communities a much debated issue in public opinion. This thesis is a comparative
research, which distinguishes it methodologically from the rest of the Turkish literature.
Contrary to the mainstream literature, I will show that gated communities interact with their
surroundings, rather than being isolated housing developments. For this purpose, I selected
the communities of Istanbul Istanbul and Kasaba built by the same developer company in
Gokturk and Omerli. I have four main interests in this research. First, I examine the relations
established with the residents in nearby communities, the local populations and
municipalities which lead to economic, political and cultural changes in Gokturk and Omerli.
Second, I examine how residents establish boundaries with different groups. In doing this, I
argue that gated communities are the reflections of different class and cultural groups so that
each social group has its “socially situated symbolic capitals” relevant for that group. Third,
I also examine how space is shaped by and shapes people’s lives. For this purpose, I examine
the competition between imaginary and real spaces, i.e. “designed” and “lived” places,
which gives interesting results about how residents experience their homes leading to the re-
evaluation of “sign-value”. Fourth, I explore the “security” aspect of gated communities. For
this purpose, I examine how residents perceive Istanbul which has become a dangerous city
due to increasing crime rates and the threat of a future earthquake. I also examine how
security is ensured inside gated communities. Finally, I argue that gated communities do not
create totally safe and isolated places, but they lead to new insecurities.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLES OF CONTENTS V-VII
FIGURES AND TABLES VII-VIII

CHAPTER ONE: AN EXPLORATION OF TWO GATED COMMUNITIES IN
ISTANBUL
1.1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.2 THESIS STRUCTURE 4

CHAPTER TWO: ISTANBUL: MICROCOSM OF GLOBAL PROCESSES
INTRODUCTION 12
2.1 ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING AND NEW LABOUR MARKETS 14
2.2 NEW POWER: CITIES IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY 19
2.3 GLOBAL ISTANBUL 23
2.4 THE NEW URBAN SPACE 25
2.5 FRAGMENTATION OF PUBLIC SPACE AND CONFLICTING ISTANBULS 31
2.5.1 Tensions in Istanbul: The Entrapment of Elites 41
2.6 FROM A GLOBAL CITY INTO A CITY OF FEAR 43
2.6.1 “The Moment when Time Stopped…” 48
CONCLUSION 51

CHAPTER THREE: AN EXAMINATION OF THE LITERATURE ON GATED
COMMUNITIES
INTRODUCTION 54
3.1 GATED COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD 55
3.2 SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHANGES AND THE SEARCH FOR SECURITY 60
3.3 A SUBURBAN PHENOMENON 65
3.4 A COMMUNITY LIFE 69
3.5 “MICRO-GOVERNMENTS” 72
3.6 WHO LIVES THERE? 76
3.6.1 Status and Distinction 78
3.7 DIFFERENT FORMS OF GATED COMMUNITIES 80
3.8 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 81
3.9 METHODS 87
CONCLUSION 94

CHAPTER FOUR: A TALE OF TWO VILLAGES: GOKTURK AND OMERLI
INTRODUCTION 98
4.1 A SYMBIOTIC RELATION 98
4.1.1 “Permeable Closeness”: Social and Economic Relations 107
4.2 COOPERATIVE COMPETITORS 112
4.3 MODERNITY, BUT HOW? 121
4.3.1 Different Relations 128
4.3.2 In-between Modernity: A Gendered Dimension 131
4.3.3 Honest Villagers and Natural Village Life 135
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CONCLUSION 141

CHAPTER FIVE: PLURAL DISTINCTIONS IN A SINGLE SPACE
INTRODUCTION 145
5.1 SOCIAL CLOSURE AND PLURAL DISTINCTIONS 146
5.2 RESIDENTS AND LOCAL POPULATIONS 155
5.3 DIFFERENCES INSIDE THE SAME COMMUNITY 167
5.4 “WHICH ONE IS THE BEST?” 174
5.4.1 “We Are Not as Snobbish as Kemer Country” 180
CONCLUSION 187

CHAPTER SIX: THE COMPETITION BETWEEN IMAGINARY AND REAL
COMMUNITIES
INTRODUCTION 191
6.1 IMAGINARY COMMUNITIES 192
6.1.1 Different Niches in the Same Neighbourhood 192
6.1.2 A House “with a Soul” 196
6.1.3 “It Seems 40 Years Old” 201
6.1.4 The Competition between Foreign and Local Architects 208
6.1.5 Advertisements and Other Visuals 211
6.1.6 The Crown of Distinction 213
6.2 REAL COMMUNITIES 216
6.2.1 Turkish Life in an American House 226
CONCLUSION 232

CHAPTER SEVEN: “GUANTANAMO CAMPS” IN SUBURBAN ISTANBUL
INTRODUCTION 237
7.1 THE FEAR OF URBAN SPACE AND EARTHQUAKE 238
7.1.1 Children 242
7.1.2 A Safe and Mobile Life 247
7.2 SAFE LIVING 248
7.2.1 Panopticon in Reverse 248
7.2.2 Spontaneous Security 254
7.3 NEW FORMS OF INSECURITY 257
7.3.1 Class and Ethnic/Religious Segregation 257
7.3.2 The Forest: Protection and Danger 260
7.3.3 Different Forms of Visibility: A Gendered Dimension 264
7.3.4 Less Traffic, Longer Road 267
7.3.5 “Enemy Inside” 271
CONCLUSION 274

CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSION 278
8.1 MAJOR CONTRIBUTION 280
8.2 MUTUALLY-INCLUSIVE FACTORS 289
8.3 FUTURE RESEARCH 295

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APPENDIX 1
CHAPTER 3
INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR PARTICIPANTS 298
1. Interview Questions for Residents 298
2. Interview Questions for Experts 299
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RESIDENTS 300
1. Istanbul Istanbul 300
2. Kasaba 303

APPENDIX 2
CHAPTER 5
THE LOCATION OF PREVIOUS RESIDENCES: Istanbul Istanbul 307
THE LOCATION OF PREVIOUS RESIDENCES: Kasaba 308

REFERENCES 309

FIGURES AND TABLES
FIGURES
FIGURE 1.1: THE LOCATIONS OF ISTANBUL ISTANBUL AND KASABA 4
FIGURE 1.2: THE MAP OF ISTANBUL 11
FIGURE 4.1.1.1: ALEV PRIMARY SCHOOL 109
FIGURE 4.2.1: ISTANBUL AVENUE 117
FIGURE 4.2.2: A SECONDARY ROAD NEAR ISTANBUL ISTANBUL 118
FIGURE 4.2.3: ISTANBUL AVENUE 119
FIGURE 4.3.1: THE PAST AND THE PRESENT OF GOKTURK 122
FIGURES 4.3.2 AND 4.3.3: THE PAST AND THE PRESENT OF OMERLI 124
FIGURE 4.3.4: OMERLI REPUBLIC PARK 125
FIGURE 4.3.2.1: LOCAL WOMEN IN OMERLI 132
FIGURE 5.2.1: A MANGAL SET 157
FIGURE 5.2.2: A BARBEQUE 158
FIGURE 6.1.2.1: THE PLAN OF ISTANBUL ISTANBUL 198
FIGURE 6.1.2.2: THE SOCIAL CLUB BUILDING IN ISTANBUL ISTANBUL 200
FIGURE 6.1.2.3: THE PLAN OF KASABA 201
FIGURE 6.1.3.1: [Image Removed] 207
FIGURE 6.1.3.2: ISTANBUL ISTANBUL 207
FIGURE 6.1.4.1: MIPIM AWARD OF ISTANBUL ISTANBUL 210
FIGURE 6.1.6.1: AN ADVERTISEMENT OF “CASABA” 214
FIGURE 6.2.1: ISTANBUL ISTANBUL 218
FIGURE 6.2.2: KASABA 224
FIGURE 6.2.1.1: THE SKETCH OF THE FIRST FLOOR OF A HOUSE IN KASABA 230
FIGURE 7.1.1: KASABA AND ITS’ EARTHQUAKE RESISTANCE 239
FIGURE 7.2.1.1: THE ENTRANCE OF KASABA 250
FIGURE 7.2.1.2: THE ENTRANCE OF ISTANBUL ISTANBUL 250
FIGURE 7.2.2.1: CARICATURE OF BEHIC AK 254
FIGURE 7.3.2.1: KASABA AND THE FOREST 263

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TABLES
TABLE 2.1.1: MAIN ECONOMIC SECTORS IN TURKEY 18
TABLE 2.1.2: FIRE SECTORS IN TURKEY 18
TABLE 2.1.3: FINANCIAL FLOWS IN TURKEY- EXPORTS AND IMPORTS 18
TABLE 2.6.1: COMPARISON OF CRIME STATISTICS OF TURKEY 44

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CHAPTER ONE

AN EXPLORATION OF TWO GATED COMMUNITIES IN

ISTANBUL

1.1 INTRODUCTION

In the process of globalisation, Turkey has witnessed the emergence of “gated
communities” started in Istanbul, the biggest and the most populated city. In most of the
literature gated communities have had negative meanings and have often been described as
developments which increase social polarisation and further urban fragmentation (Caldeira,
2000) while sociologists generally regard gated communities as exclusionary, elitist and anti-
social (El Nasser, 2002). They lead to paradoxes, as in the words of Lang and Danielsen, such
as they create civic engagement and avoidance, deregulation and hyperregulation, integration
and segregation and vigilance and negligence toward crime (Lang and Danielsen, 1997: 875-
876).
Notwithstanding increasing worldwide interest in gated communities, this is a new
subject to explore in Turkey. One reason which led people to move to gated communities has
been the degrading aspects of city life (Alver, 2007; Ayata, 2002; Isik and Pinarcioglu, 2005;
Oncu, 1999; Senyapili, 2003). The negative understanding of the “urban” has resulted in
suburban expansion as depicted in the literature (Perouse and Danis, 2005; Kurtulus, 2005b).
Gated communities have become a part of suburban expansion in Istanbul since the 1980s,
accelerated by political arrangements and the rise of the new middle classes and a search for
lifestyle. In most of the media, gated communities have different and sometimes conflicting
representations. For instance, professional chambers of architects and urban planners have
depicted gated communities as homogenous settlements which reinforce urban fragmentation.
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