The Transformation of Space and Social Class: The Past and Present of Çukurambar

Abstract

This paper examines the relation between physical space and social space by focusing on the recent transformation of Çukurambar, an old gecekondu neighborhood in Ankara. Applying to Pierre Bourdieu’s conceptual tools, this paper interrogates the social implications of spatial transformation.Based on the data that was acquired from an ethnographic research, the study first explicates the spatial trajectory of Çukurambar. The trajectory of the neighborhood goes in parallel with the general transformation of urban space in Turkey. Being a villageuntil 1950s, Çukurambar transformed into being a gecekondu neighborhood as a result of the internal migration waves.The social destiny of the neighborhood changed sharply again as a result of the neoliberal urban transformation projects.The paper underlines two dynamics that fastened the spatial transformation in Çukurambar: the intensification of political capital and economic capital.The product of the fast spatial transformation is the formation of an upper-middle class neighborhood. The partnership of politicians, local governments and urban transformation industry ended up with the making of the upper-middle class neighborhood.