An urban social movement challenging urban regeneration: The case of Sulukule, Istanbul

Urban regeneration projects have become a focus of attention in Istanbul due to tourism promotion, particularly great expectations from the European Capital of Culture 2010 Event. Sulukule, a Romani neighborhood on the historical peninsula of Istanbul, was designated as an urban redevelopment zone. The Sulukule Urban Regeneration Project is one of the recent efforts to present “a better urban environment” to foreign visitors and investors. The project has accelerated the struggle for land, causing dispossessions, evictions and demolitions. Locals’ needs and rights are denied. Consequently, the citizens in Sulukule started to oppose regeneration and formed an urban social movement. This paper attempts to analyze the urban social movement in Sulukule, the Sulukule Platform, which emerged as an urban coalition challenging tourism-led regeneration.

► Urban regeneration in Sulukule, Istanbul caused demolitions and evictions.
► Citizens formed an urban coalition, the Sulukule Platform, to defend their rights.
► The Sulukule Platform failed in physical preservation of the neighborhood.
► Ambiguous property rights, lack of wide support, strong opposition and fragmentation among locals contributed to this failure.
► The Sulukule Platform continues to struggle for return of Romani dwellers to Sulukule.