Claiming Urban Form for Liveability: An Analysis of Urban Social Movements in Istanbul

Abstract

All dimensions of liveability, from economic to social, are directly related to urban space and its production process. However, the production of urban space, with its forms and functions, is always situated in the con flicting domain of (spatial) political economy. Conventional space production processes that favour dominant classes and produce space regarding exchange value are frequently contested with the social reaction of dominated classes defending use values and liveability. In this vein, Urban Social Movements (USMs) seem one of the key instruments for the social production of urban space with be er liveability conditions. From this perspective, the study aims to investigate USMs' space transforming capacity by focusing on the case of Istanbul. A five-step spatial analysis is conducted, assuming that USMs are closely related to the characteristics of urban development projects. In these steps (i) the location of the urban development projects and USMs; (ii) existing land use in the project areas; (iii) scale of the projects, (iv) organization level of USMs; and (v) relationships of four USM-related projects within the urban fabric are analysed. Findings of the study reveal that centrality plays a vital role in both development projects and related USMs and aff ects the programme, scale, and organization level. Considering liveability conditions, faced with aggressive capitalist behaviour supported by local and central state apparatus, USMs can realize their space transforming potential only by protecting existing programmes and urban fabric.