The Residential Mobility Pattern in the Istanbul Metropolitan Area

Abstract

This paper investigates intra-urban residential moves according to housing areas with varying densities in Istanbul. First, the reasons for actual moves are explored, initially with regard to the age and education characteristics of the households. Further consideration is given to the type of previous dwelling, duration of residence in the previous dwelling and the distance from the origin to destination areas. The results related to age are consistent with previous studies; older households are less mobile. However, duration of time in the residence reflects a different pattern from previous studies; in Istanbul, it appears not to reduce residential mobility. Second, planned mobility is analyzed according to household structure such as age, education, tenure and income. The analysis is expanded by adding dwelling characteristics and ‘roomstress’—a measure of the space needed by the household. Further, neighbourhood characteristics are added to elaborate their impact on the probability of the residential mobility. Results reflect that renters are more mobile than owners. While high accessibility decreases the odds of residential mobility, neighbourhood traffic problems positively increase the odds of future mobility. However, ‘roomstress' appears not to provide a significant source of explanation in any of the models.