Urban transformation through property-led regeneration: A case of building renewals in Istanbul

Abstract

Urban transformation is a prominent topic within Istanbul’s urban planningagenda. Transformation process of the city falls under the scope of academiciansand the related authorities; and is a focus of debate from different perspectivesin daily life. In this atmosphere, centralised policies promote construction facil-ities as the leading economic sector, and the legislation sets the legal frameworkfacilitating transformation processes. This transformation in Istanbul occurs intwo forms; as area-based regeneration projects and single building renewal pro-cesses. Area-based regeneration projects have long been examined due to theirwidespread effects, however single building renewal also leads to transformationover the long term. The motivation behind this paper is to examine the singlebuilding renewal process by means of a case study – Bakirkoy, which is one of thesub-centres of Istanbul. In this context, the paper aims to construct an analyticalevaluation of the regeneration process in Bakirkoy and tries to evaluate the pro-cess linking it with critiques of property-led regeneration debates worldwide. Thispaper covers a periodical evaluation of this process by attempting to understandthe urban transformation pattern by means of a descriptive spatial analysis, and adiscussion of recent policies in Bakirkoy case.