Abstract:

In Turkey, which has been rapidly integrated into the world capitalist system with the transformations it has made since 1980, the neoliberal policies which are effective in politics have also shown itself in the urban space and thus neoliberalism struck its mark on urban politics. In this context, the applicatons that the dominance of neoliberal policies in urban space can be observed most clearly are practices of urban transformation. The process of urban transformation, which accelerated in Turkey especially after 2000, progresses towards the unequal distribution of urban rent in parallel with the neoliberal policy. The needs of local people are not being considered in this process and  cities become such a place of inequality. The other important aspect of this process is that neoliberalism, contrary to its rhetoric of unlimited freedom to markets, democratization and decentralization, makes an interventionist and centralized administration perception in the urban space. This understanding, that can be seen the most obvious examples in Executive order No. 648, Laws No.6306 and No. 6360, takes authorities for urban planning from local government and transfers it to central administration. In this way, administration of rent is not left to local governments and is largely controlled by central government and distributed in favor of various interest groups in applications of urban transformation. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between neoliberal policies and urban transformation applications which have accelerated especially in Turkey in recent years. The study will also examine the consequences of this relationship reflected in the city location. In the study, the results of this relationship reflected in the urban space will also be examined. In this context, the post-2000 legislative arrangements, which are thought to be the most important reflections of the process, will be emphasized particularly.

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