Ninth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Since the failed promises of modernism, architects have sought an ethical framework to guide theory and practice. This goal has manifested itself in many ways; however, architects have not integrated knowledge of the relationship between space and social movements. The production of informal settlements in Turkey, called gecekondu, provided urban migrants with access to urban amenities and jobs. This process is described by Asef Bayat as a social nonmovement, or the quiet encroachment/claim-making through everyday activity. Through multiple regimes with varying economic models, the gecekondus have persevered. Currently the ruling Justice and Development Party has instating a zero gecekondu policy. The effect has been large scale demolition of gecekondu neighborhoods to be replaced with upscale apartment buildings and social housing. This has been met with some resistance, but that resistance seems to have been pacified throughout Ankara. To document the process of pacifying a social nonmovement, I spent nine months in Ankara, conducted semi-structured and informal interviews, observed daily interactions, and analyzed this data concurrently with spatial analysis. I found that the Turkish state uses counter mobilization mechanisms of cooptation and repression. Cooptation is done appealing to the ideology of residents, focusing on the exchange value of land, and appealing to local politicians. Repression is accomplished through demolition and suspending services. Architects who are concerned about promoting social justice in the built environment would benefit from understanding the impact of cooptation and repression in the lives gecekondu residents.