Citizenship, minorities and the struggle for aright to the cityin Istanbul

Lefebvre’s Production of Space in the Context of Turkey: A Comprehensive Literature Survey

“…However, the most frequent application of the Lefebvrean concepts is in the fields such as architecture and urban studies (Y. Baş, 2010;Çınar, 2014;Gegelioğlu & Aydınlı, 2014;Karakaya, 2010;Kaypak, 2014aKaypak, , 2014bKoçak, 2008;Turhanoglu, 2010; C. S. Wilson, 2007) and urban social movements (Batuman, 2003;Erdi-Lelandais, 2013Ergin, 2006Ergin, , 2014Fırat, 2011); as these fields of research are traditionally more directly related to space as an "object" of inquiry, this pattern seems quite natural. Of particular note in a Turkish context was the application of Lefebvrean conceptualizations in numerous analyses of the 2013 Occupy Gezi Movement (Batuman, 2014(Batuman, , 2015aCastagno, 2015;E.…”

Space and Identity in Resistance against Neoliberal Urban Planning in Turkey

“…Both neighbourhoods are close to the cultural, financial and historical centres in Istanbul, but in addition to being considered poor and socially stigmatized areas, they are also home to ethnic or religious minority communities whose rights have been undermined since the Turkish Republic was founded in 1923. Turkish citizenship, defined as a duty‐based, passive identity that is state‐determined rather than self‐constructed, is conceived against imagined internal and external enemies, resulting in the spatial‐temporal conditioning of state and society against the outside world and the ‘other’ (Lelandais, ). This perception has dominated Turkish state tradition until recently, meaning that these ‘other’ ethnic communities have become increasingly concentrated around certain districts, where they have constructed neighbourhoods that reflect their way of life, enabling them to escape the social stigma of their identity and symbolic repression by the state.…”

“…It also opens a new debate about new forms of citizenship based on claims to the right to the city. In the two case studies, inhabitants developed a type of local citizenship related to their sense of belonging to their spaces, based on their lifestyles and ethnic origins as well as a collective memory of the past (Lelandais, ). These communities’ attachment and loyalty to the political system is determined by the level of respect that the political system accords their way of life.…”

“…I also argue 5 As it is not the main purpose of this article, I will not engage in further discussion about citizenship, particularly the socio-historical bases of Turkish citizenship and its effects on the identification of minorities by the Turkish state. This subject is discussed in depth in another of my articles, which could be regarded as complementary to this article (see Lelandais, 2013 that resistance contributes to the discourses and practices of city life, and therefore constructs a 'sense of place' (Bieri, 2002), which in turn reinforces identification with the neighbourhood.…”

“…As it is not the main purpose of this article, I will not engage in further discussion about citizenship, particularly the socio‐historical bases of Turkish citizenship and its effects on the identification of minorities by the Turkish state. This subject is discussed in depth in another of my articles, which could be regarded as complementary to this article (see Lelandais, ).…”