A Tale of an Uneven Urban Development: The socio-economic and socio-cultural contradictions of Tarlabasi Renewal Project

Abstract: This paper audits, theoretically and empirically, how the nature of the renewal projects in Turkey and social justice are closely connected by looking at spatial and urban politics with a special emphasis on the case of Tarlabasi Neighborhood in Istanbul. Based upon the theoretical framework of Henri Lefebvre's spatial triad, the study aims to illustrate the socio-economic and socio-cultural contradictions of the urban regime in Turkey. This study asks two questions from the standpoint of urban politics and spatial social justice: 1) How can the social and economic transformations be understood within Lefebvre's spatial triad? 2) How can the concepts of construction of truth, power and space be applied to Tarlabasi Renewal Project? By exploring neoliberal shift of urban politics in Turkey it will be argued that the current neoliberal policies of the new urban regime does not include participatory methods and therefore lacks social justice. Within a qualitative research approach, critical discourse analysis will be used, with an emphasis on Foucauldian discourse, and semi-structured interviews to analyze the Tarlabasi case to demonstrate the unfavorable impacts of the urban renewal projects on urban poverty. This study will suggest that public participatory methods should be included within urban renewal processes in order to achieve a just urban development.