Rethinking the production of space:|The case of Istanbul's Beyoğlu

Abstract

Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district has been undergoing a massive transformation since the 2013 as other parts of the city. While various state-led projects have been reshaping both the physical and non-physical elements of space in Beyoğlu, the production of space reappears as an analytical question. Analyzing the case of Beyoğlu, this thesis focuses on this question. The literature provides different approaches regarding how to study space and space-making. While some of the scholars argue for the vital role of planetary processes, others emphasize the significance of area-specific factors. One of the main implications of the planetary understanding of space and space production is the tendency to explain spatial processes with globalizing capitalism. Such understanding often undermines the important role of the locally situated ideological factors and framings in the production of space. Moreover, as these discussions often remain at the theoretical level, they do not provide analytical tools to explore on-the-ground manifestations of space and space-making as a praxis. Particularly focusing on how space is produced, through which factors and by whom, this study analyzes different layers, framings, actors and processes of the production of space focusing on the case of Beyoğlu focusing on the everyday life implications of space production. This thesis argues that the production of space is a multilayered process characterized by the strategic instrumentalization of space by the state and its collaborators through not only globally circulating economic factors but also locally situated and historically contingent ideological factors and framings.