The Politics of Squatter (Gecekondu) Studies in Turkey: The Changing Representations of Rural Migrants in the Academic Discourse

Abstract

Summary. This article aims to develop a critical approach to squatter (gecekondu) studies in Turkey and investigates the various representations of the gecekondu people in these studies in different periods by placing them in their social, political and economic contexts. It details changes in the representation of the gecekondu population from the 'rural Other' in the 1950s and 1960s, to the 'disadvantage d Other' in the 1970s and early 1980s, to the 'urban poor Other(s)', the 'undeserving rich Other(s)' and the 'culturally inferior Other(s) as Sub-culture' between the mid 1980s and mid 1990s, and nally to the 'threatening/varoşlu Other' in the late 1990s. It asserts that, while the approach to the gecekondu people varies from an élitist one, to one which is sympathetic to the gecekondu people, this group, nevertheless, has been consistently the 'inferior Other' for Turkish gecekondu researchers.

Varoşun Üç Hali: İç Varoş , Parçalanmış Varoş , ve Bütünleşik Varoş

“…Bu çok boyutlu ve damgalayıcı bakış açısı, gençleri yani riskli topluluğu hedef alır. Böylece varoş gençliği tehlike olarak gençlik kavramıyla ifade edilmeye başlanmıştır (Vulbeau, 2001 (Erman, 2001). Böylece çift yönlü bir damgalanma yaşayan "Öteki Türkiye" oluşmuştu: Bir yanda; devlete baş kaldıran radikal siyasi akım kaynağı olan bölge, öte yandaysa yaşayanlarının siyasi taraftarlardan çok suçlular olduğu bölge.…”

Kentsel Dönüşümde Mahalleler Arasi Önceli̇k Siralamasi: Örnek Bi̇r Karar Destek Si̇stemi̇

“…Uygun fiyatlı konut arzının kamu ve özel sektör tarafından karĢılanamaması sebebiyle köylerden gelen yoksul vatandaĢlar konut ihtiyaçlarını kullanılmayan özel Ģahıs, kurum ve devlet arazileri üzerine gecekondu yapmak suretiyle fiilen iĢgal ederek karĢılamaya çalıĢmıĢlardır (Erman, 2001). Konutlarının yasadıĢı olması sebebiyle devlet tarafından yıkılması tehdidi yaĢayan gecekondu sahipleri, konutlarını olabildiğince ucuza imal etmek için mühendislik hizmetleri almadan düĢük kaliteli olarak inĢa etmiĢlerdir.…”

Dimensions Of Housing Satisfaction: A Case Study Based On Perceptions Of Rural Migrants Living In Dikmen

“…Additionally, for rural migrants in the city getting job became more competitive in both the public and private sector. Those negative developments created severe poverty in the squatter housing settlements, especially for new migrant groups who were excluded from the stable and old migrant networks (Erder, 1995;Erman, 2001). In addition to social changes in the urban environment, a new amnesty law for squatter houses, the Redevelopment Law (Law No 2981) legalized the illegally developed housing areas and provided development rights to owners or users of land through improvement plans.…”

“…These groups rented the squatter housing which was constructed by the first rural migrant groups in order to get rental income. Therefore, the first comers made a profit on their squatter houses and upgraded their economic status (Erman, 2001). On the other hand, the types of jobs available for rural migrants were limited.…”