by Tolga Islam
Abstract
Sulukule, now a ruined and deserted land (as a result of the demolitions of the municipality), was a residential inner city neighborhood situated along the historic city walls in the Historic Peninsula. It was characterized by being a host to Roma population that had been living there for several decades. Sulukule was a highly stigmatized neighborhood, associated with crime and illegal activities in the minds of the general public, mainly with drug trade and usage. The local authorities have decided to implement a renewal project in Sulukule in 2005, the beginning of an era that is characterized by the declaration of a series of renewal projects in different parts of the city that will replace the existing houses of low quality and poor standards with new and high quality houses. The project is being implemented in the name of increasing the quality of life of the original residents. What is really happening, however, is the dispersal of the local residents, especially the Roma people, throughout the city and making their land available for the use of more affluent users by using state power (namely gentrifying their land). The paper aims to reflect this gap/irony between the policy rhetoric of the local authority and the reality taking place in the neighborhood.
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| Rainy Istanbul, photo by jasab |
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| Istanbul again, photo by tcp909 |
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