The literature on gentrification through urban regeneration tends to overlook its most alarming effect, displacement, particularly in low-income neighbourhoods and in the aftermath of the regeneration practice. The paper aims to analyse in depth the multiple facets of displacement and actors’ perceptions of it, in the context of a regeneration project involving informal housing and low-income residents in Ayazma, Istanbul. Through participant observation and in-depth interviews with the local municipality, the central government housing provider, non-governmental organisations and residents, the study determined that the displacement of residents can happen in multiple ways and on different timelines. The results show that although the formal actors recognised to an extent that displacement resulted in severe challenges for the local community, they viewed it as an intrinsic and/or inevitable pre-condition of successful regeneration schemes. On the contrary, the displaced residents suffered the consequences and felt increasingly neglected and antagonised by the government over the course of the project, leading to deeper issues of trust and isolation. The findings of the study can help the policymakers and practitioners of urban planning and related fields view gentrification and displacement in a new light and consider its various causes and effects.

This article examines two urban redevelopment projects in Istanbul in an attempt to address the gap between literature and real-life planning practice in their understanding of power relations and imbalances in collaborative forums. Based on insights from informed practitioners, residents, and activists, it presents the realities—project stories, actors and their perceptions, motives, influences, and lessons—faced in gecekondu renewal and earthquake-based regeneration processes. It suggests a set of redevelopment strategies and responses that highlight democratic and collaborative criteria to overcome power-related challenges and foster a more just redistribution of power.

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A partir de una revisión de conceptos y críticas principales y complementarias del derecho a la ciudad, este estudio pretende llenar los vacíos en la literatura sobre el derecho a la ciudad de los individuos y grupos vulnerables que enfrentan diversas formas de exclusión socio-espacial en la vida cotidiana. Argumenta que los problemas relacionados con el derecho a la ciudad se pueden abordar mejor analizando las experiencias de la vida real de los habitantes urbanos vulnerables. Dicho análisis, basado en el caso de Estambul, se desarrolló a través de 48 entrevistas realizadas a habitantes de la ciudad que se identificaron con una o varias categorías de vulnerabilidad sociológica. A partir de los relatos de los encuestados sobre las relaciones sociales que establecen en el espacio público, el artículo concluye con una discusión basada en la literatura sobre cómo lograr y mantener con éxito el derecho a la ciudad.

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