The construction work for the Taksim Project had just started. You can find my article published in Trialog Journal on this project and its broader discursive framework here.
THE REIGN OF ‘MADNESS’ IN ISTANBUL: ECONOMIES OF SCALE OF URBAN TRANSFORMATION
Abstract: Istanbul is transforming. The city is turning global, becoming one of the nodal hubs that knit the global economy together. Although İstanbul’s current rapid transformation has been presented as a ‘non-Western’ miracle of development in the face of the destructive effects of economic crises, it is actually possible to think of this transformation as a “skillful” application of well-known global(urban)ization strategies by an alliance formed between the state, the investors and local governments. In this article, I would like to discuss the way in which ‘the urban’ is transforming in Istanbul within the processes of globalization and its impact beyond the ‘city of billionares’; by first focusing briefly on the overall strategies at work; second unpacking the discourse of transformation by focusing on the mega projects; and third zooming in Taksim Project, an emblematic intervention at the city’s most visible public space.
