- The Evaluation of Project Typologies in Istanbul: From conspiring dialogues to inspiring trialogues    click here to open paper content313 kb
by    Unsal, Fatma | unsal.fatma@gmail.com   click here to send an email to the auther(s) of this paper
Short Outline
It is targeted to trace the interaction patterns of various actors set in recent urban development projects in Istanbul in order to conclude the basic principles of a proper trialogue as an integrative, inspiring and justifying tool of planning.
Abstract
Different interaction patterns between the various actors of urban development are embedded within the changing nature of planning paradigm. The normative planning manner of the State, which was displayed through a monologue type of interaction, shaped the urban patterns till 1980’s. Thereafter, various patterns of dialogues emerged in relation to the expansion of neo-liberal ideology within the urban context. These dialogues were mostly initiated by the investors either with the State or with the private land owners. The dialogue type of interaction led to a spatial development through incidental, isolated projects and acceptance of the inevitable chaotic development tendencies.
The urban development of Istanbul after 1980’s presents a remarkable case to comprehend the involvement of various actors through the different interaction patterns of development projects. Four typologies of projects are defined revealing those differences. In the first group, there are projects which emerged due to the decentralization of the existing functions on the State-owned manufacturing and service areas, developed through a dialogue between the State and the local/global investors. The second group of projects surfaces upon negotiations between the investors and the private landowners, mostly on large scale plots outside the planning and infrastructural scopes of the existing urban macroform. A certain type of development is imposed for these plots disregarding the public interest on the whole. The third group of projects targets to improve the urban quality of the poorly-developed housing areas and attracting the investors to their advantageous locations. These projects actually involve the three prime actors and display a potential for a trialogue, but the benefits are limited to the project’s immediate impact and do not contribute to an integrative approach. There is a fourth group of projects which targets the improvement of the standards of the poorly-developed zones or earthquake-prone areas. Since these are commercially unattractive zones, the dialogue is between the State and the vulnerable groups. The projects in this category are hardly cultivated due to the scarcity of public funds and their dependency to the resources generated in other development areas.
This study targets to classify the recent urban development projects in Istanbul in the above-mentioned framework, to explore the contradicting and conforming aspects of the specific projects in relation to the development strategies of Istanbul and finally to conclude the basic principles of a proper trialogue as an integrative, inspiring and justifying tool of urban planning.
Keywords
urban projects, role of state in urban planning
Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2007: Urban Trialogues
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