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GENTRIFICATION AS A RESULT OF GLOBALISATION


BAYKAL NAZLI
SĂĽleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey

Issue:

INTERSTUDIA, Number 6

Section:

TRADITION AND INNOVATION

Abstract:

Smith and Williams defined gentrification as “the rehabilitation of working-class and derelict housing and the consequent transformation of an area into a middle-class neighbourhood”. Gentrification emphasized the effects of global economy on newly found sectors due to financial activities and international job transactions during 1980’s as a result of the radical changes in Turkish economy. There were new types of jobs especially in İstanbul in accordance with the demands of this new, globalized economy. To locate these jobs and the people working, places and housing stock are needed near the city center. However, the eligible areas were already occupied and the newcomers had to share the residence and office stock. This gave hope for the social restructuring, homogeneity and the interaction between layers of the society as both groups seemed in need of each other. In our case, the discussion about whether globalization brings homogeneity or diversity, resulted in diversity when the issue is gentrification. Old inhabitants started a new form of identity formation through preservation of their neighbourhoods. They were trying to gain a new cultural identity related with the “place”. This new form of group and cultural identity formation created two differing groups of people within the same society living in the same area. The data is composed of the interviews done with the inhabitants of the gentrified areas and the articles written on this issue collated in a book called “Gentrification in İstanbul”. The analysis of the data is done within the framework of the representation of social events by Fairclough using notions of critical discourse analysis. This study is also an attempt to bring together the disciplines of architecture and linguistics.

Keywords:

gentrification, globalisation, cultural identity, social events, discourse analysis.

Code [ID]:

INTERS201006V00S04A0001 [0003057]


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