Seasonal gentrification and its (dis)contents: Exploring the temporalities of rural change in a Turkish small town

Abstract

This paper joins in with the discussion on the temporalities of rural gentrification. Based on a case-study in the rural town of Ağlasun in South-West Anatolia, Turkey, we compare the influx of diverse groups of seasonal gentrifiers (second home users, students, tourists) and its material and experiential effects. Although actual material displacement was generally found to be limited, experiential displacement pressure did differ amongst the three groups. Our findings indicate the importance of the temporal dimensions of gentrification in understanding its differential effects. We identified four key dimensions which determined the effects and perceptions of seasonal gentrification in Ağlasun: The three groups did not only differ according to the periodicity of their migration, but also in their rhythms of everyday life. In addition, the particularity of our case study revealed the importance of two additional temporal dimensions: the impermanence of gentrifiers’ residence, as well as the historical sequence of events gentrification is embedded in. Both significantly influence the evaluation of gentrification’s costs and benefits by long-term residents.