Abstract:

This study discusses the life in the neighbourhoods stuck between the gated communities recently built in the district of Sancaktepe, in terms of neighbourliness and social networks in the neighbourhood. In this context, in-depth interviews were conducted with the residents of the neighbourhoods about their lives, experiences, relations, urban structure, urban transformation and the rise of gated communities. All interviewees stated that they were generally content with where they lived, and, for most of them, the key factor for this satisfaction was the neighbourly relations. Contrary to the prevalent opinion that urbanization weakens the neighbourly relations, the neighbourhood residents emphasized the intensiveness of the neighbourly relations and its determining role in their lives, and they distinctly distinguished themselves from those living in the gated communities by virtue of these relations.

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