P's expression is in stark contrast with the enthusiastic declaration of a local newspaper, which proudly announced plans for the Manhattanization of the area in as early as 2006 (Yeni Asır, 2006). Accordingly, new master plans were being considered by the commission in charge of the development of public works (İmar ve Bayındırlık Komisyonu), following the proposal of the mayor of the Greater Metropolitan Municipality (henceforth İGMM). The regeneration process of the district began in 2010 (Milliyet Ege, 2010).Manhattanization sounds like an unusual characterization for a relatively small city like İzmir. In its earlier uses in the 1930s, the term was defined as "filling a city with tall buildings so that it resembles Manhattan Island" (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016). According to urban anthropologist Elizabeth Greenspan ( 2013), the new meaning of the term involves "turning a city