Poli 348: Urban Politics & Policy Lab

On Tuesday, March 3^rd we attended a lecture by Tuna Kuyucu.  His lecture, titled “Has Turkey Turned into a “Constructocracy?, presented three areas that have seen major changes in recent years causing Turkey, especially Istanbul, to become a site of mega projects.  The three areas are the actors involved, financing mechanisms and the role of government.  The actors have consolidated into real-estate investment trusts and large contractors that are making large investments in projects.  The mortgage industry has grown and foreign buyers are increasing changing the financing of projects.  Finally, the government passed measures to facilitate development in order to keep the economy afloat, create jobs and to maintain power.  The result of these changes has lead to mega-projects, several of which are in the transportation sector: the new airport, the third highway ring and bridge, the Marmaray line, and even the coming metro expansions.  These projects come from the central government and have not been included in Istanbul’s plan for itself.  It is unclear whether the highway ring and bridge will solve problems or create more.

After the lecture, I asked Kuyucu about the current public transportation in Istanbul and what he sees for the future.  He says the new airport will likely include a new BRT line or a rail line to connect it to the city and that the third bridge will include a train crossing in addition to cars.  I asked specifically about the current BRT line that does connect the Asian and European sides.  Kuyucu laughed and Abdullah joined him, calling the BRT a joke, something to experience at rush hour.  He also called it (and other buses and so called “solutions” to the transportation problem) propaganda by the government and full of corruption.  Way more money has been spent on the mega projects and consequently on cars as a means of transportation than on public transportation.  Furthermore, he added that the BRT is insufficient and too slow with all its stops.  He said there are many accidents with all the buses in the city and the hilly topography is not appropriate for buses and many break down.  This begged the question, what is appropriate for the hills?  Overall, the picture he painted of public transportation in Istanbul was a bleak one, and his answers implied that the answer to my research question is that the current public transportation is not effective in addressing the transportation problems of developing/expanding cities.

An example of a hill in Istanbul

One of Istanbul’s top tourist attractions are both the Spice and Grand Bazaar. Merchants gather to peddle their wares that range from cheap soccer jerseys to tea and Turkish delight. I visited near the end of the day when theoretically there would be less people, yet could not believe how crowded it was.

Each merchant basically sold the same combination of merchandise. Sales were, therefore, nearly completely based on the quality of the product and interaction/experience. Several merchants that approached me spoke English and continued to ask more personal questions to get a sale. I found their tactics incredibly effective and proceeded to haggle on prices almost for fun. Their prices are for tourists and cost much less to produce and have a high margin of profit, making haggling an almost necessary practice. Regardless of price inflation, though, don’t they have a bottom line? A necessary cost to continue their business? I asked several shop owners the price they pay per month simply for renting the space. Anywhere from $10,000-$12,000 a month would be normal for average shops. If you were located on the main walkway inside the Grand Bazaar with all the jewelry shops that would put you at an even higher rate. The amount of business both Bazaars do, regardless of similarities between vendors, sustains these costs and profit greatly. No doubt these rents to both private and public investors are valued extremely highly.

In the moment these structures weren’t so obvious simply because it was an experience. I wish I could have bought more Turkish delight, but they had already gotten the rest of my money!

March 4th, a group of us met Sevgi Akarcesme, a columnist at Zaman Daily News and correspondent of its English counterpart, Today’s Zaman.

The Zaman Building

With her quick description of the AKP coming to power and the changes she saw since 2010, she painted a relatively break future in the relationship between the government and the people. She maintained coining the term “arbitocracy” to describe President Erdogan’s term. In other words, she believes there are no more checks and balances within the government structure, and that all decisions are based on the arbitrary thoughts and decisions of one man.

Other than her analysis of the government, she briefly mentioned the building of the Çamlıca mosque. Upon questioning and asking her to expand on her thoughts with this controversial project, she shed some light. The controversy surrounding this construction is known, but what are the motivations for it? What are the reasons behind the oppositions? These are questions I posed, in which I hoped to gather insight.

Akarcesme believes that the people in general are nostalgic for the glorious Ottoman times- that people are longing for the empire. Because the collapse was in part due to the West, humiliation is another emotion that plays a role within the people. Hence, Presidant Erdogan “plays into these feelings” and appeals to the people. He has been quoted saying he will “resurrect a glorius history.”

Regarding Çamlıca mosque, Akarcesme believes it should architecturally reflect the taste of the times and this country, not replicate Ottoman architecture. She clarified that she, as well as many others, are not against the actual building of the mosque. As a devout Muslim, she prays five times a day. But the location on top of a hill is pointless because it is not easily accessible, a sentiment expressed before and an experience we noted first-hand. The construction also takes away from green space. Most importantly however, businesses are usually built next to significant structures meant to draw crowds, like the Çamlıca mosque, and she expects a shopping mall or something similar to be erected around the mosque for “Erodgan’s cronies.”

It’s interesting to think that the government is possibly using something of cultural and historical value for consumer purposes, not unlike the shopping mall plans of Gezi Park- although of possibly cultural significance with its architecture, it ultimately serves another purpose. Is it the same case for this massive mosque atop the hill?

While riding Istanbul’s various forms of public transit (bus, light rail, subway, etc.), I noticed a disparity in male and female usage.  On all forms of public transit, the riders tended to be predominantly male.

This could be a result of needs influenced by job differences, accessibility, personal comfort or other factors.  However, in light of the recent violence on Turksih public transit, the attempted rape and murder of Özgecan Aslan, I paid attention to the modes of travel utilized by the women I saw and the patterns exhibited, such as time of travel, religious or secular identification and solo versus group travelers.   For example, I saw viewer women on public transit, or out at all, later in the day.  Also, while I saw many identifiably religious women using all of the public transportation, there were definitely more secular women present.

On March 5^th, we met with transportation officials from Istanbul Ulaşim.  They explained the ownership of Istanbul’s public transit as well as future goals for its development.  While the company gave optimistic and extensive goals for the transit lines’ future development, they seemed to lack in viable or noticeable considerations specifically for female passengers.  When questioned about the existence of plans for accommodations specifically for women, religious or secular, the official questioned did not seem to prioritize women passengers’ needs a highly salient considerations for future goals.  While he did cite possible accommodations, such as a gender-specific cars or taxis with female drivers, the solutions seemed to be spur of the moment brainstorming rather than definite future plans.  Regardless, these suggestions still brought up relevant problems with accommodations specifically for gender or religious purposes.  Would women-only subway cars provide better protection from violence or would they further perpetuate the social divide currently facilitating such violence?

In every restaurant and shop in Istanbul, I encountered a similar difference from U.S. culture.  In the U.S., it is typical to see women working in public, service positions such as waitresses or store clerks; this is not the case in Istanbul.    Conservative cultural and religious influences seem to manifest in regards to the jobs with female representation.  While in Istanbul, we met with a female urban planner and there were many women working in other professional jobs such as government offices or as domestic workers.  However, I saw very view women in roles that required constant public interaction.  This included women identifiable religious, wearing headscarves, as well as those more secular.    The absence of women in these positions was somewhat shocking to me.  Not because they are definitively dominated by women in the U.S., but because the total absence of women in these positions was my first observation of the gender disparities present in Turkey’s labor market. The differences in labor opportunities were not just obvious in the observed professions but also in simple building constructions. For example, some buildings we visited either had no women’s bathroom or had a higher ratio of men’s bathrooms, 2:1.  This reflected the higher ratio of male workers present.

However, while I easily observed gaps in labor opportunities, I did not see the same overwhelming difference in the demographics of the students at Boğaziçi University when we visited on March 3^rd.   I saw a mix of male and female students, as well as a mix of both religious and secular female students.   I think this difference makes sense given the higher number of women present in professional fields, but I also wonder how may women attain degrees and then don’t use them.  Overall, the labor differences visible in Istanbul’s service sector only exhibit one aspect of the gender gap in Turkey.

On Tuesday, Mar. 3^rd, we met with the vice mayor of Zeytinburnu District in Istanbul. This district has many historical sites and mosques. They also built a cultural park in honor of a historical figure. These actions certainly attract both domestic and international tourists. However, when being asked if government has developed any projects targeting tourism, the vice mayor seemed like to show that tourism is not important enough to shape government policy but will somehow be attracted anyway. He raised an example of setting up a local festival that originally was proposed just to serve local people’s interests. This festival ended up attracting a lot of domestic tourists to come, too. He was not aware of the cultural park or whatsoever.

On Friday, Mar. 6^th, we met with the mayor of Izmir. He showed completely different attitude about questions regarding tourism. He said the government paid attention into different urban planning sessions to both benefit citizens and make Izmir a better tourist destination. It is clear that Izmir is striving to make itself more internationally symbolic, and tourism certainly plays a role in helping it achieve this goal.

On March 1st Khaled Khoja met with a small portion of our group in a local coffee shop to discuss Syria’s plight. Over half of the Syrian population lives outside of Syria and militant groups such as ISIS have taken control of large portions of land throughout the country. Many of the displaced Syrians have ended up as refugees throughout the larger region and even in Istanbul receive assistance from municipalities throughout the city. Services like education, housing, and medicine are provided through the local system and is paid and organized in a good faith fashion between Khoja and Turkey’s leaders. Khoja, however, mentioned that the amount of funding for these programs is nowhere near sufficient to meet the demand of refugees and aims at building his coalition of international support. This support ranges from numerous countries, among them the United States. The opposition’s agenda is heavily influenced by international politics and Khoja depends heavily on the United States’ political support. The opposition asked the U.S. to refine its definition of terror groups within Syria to include Assad’s military police that brutally repress and terrorize Syrians. However, any stricter political sanctions against Assad would be met negatively with the Iranians with whom the U.S. is engaged in supremely important nuclear peace talks. The precarious situation of Khoja’s opposition is heavily reliant on foreign support and constantly shifts; leaving Khoja with one hell of a job to do. Khoja discussed several scenarios, specifically ‘day after’ / ‘year after’ hypotheticals about how democracy and security would be established in Syria. It was an incredible conversation that spanned numerous pertinent issues. I somewhat wonder as to why he was willing to meet us, given our comparative low profile to other diplomatic responsibilities. I valued his time greatly and gained a lot by glimpsing into his world.

A couple years ago, news reached the United States of protests erupting in Istanbul, Turkey. It became known as the Gezi Park protests.

Today, we see that the Gezi Park redevelopment issue still persists, and is especially pertinent to my research project. On March 1st, we met Muge Yorganci, a professional in Urban Design, for a guided tour of Taksim Square and Gezi Park.

Both Yorganci and past news reports maintained that the protests started with the government’s moving of five trees. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had previously announced his plans to build a large shopping mall within Gezi Park, which brought oppositions because public green spaces are far and few within Istanbul. Eventually, Yorganci states that this issue became a venue for all types of people to protest against the government in general. However, this issue is of particular interest for me because the shopping mall is planned to be a replica of Topçu Kışlası, an Ottoman military barrack. Therefore, the Gezi Park issue is a prime example of the collision of government interests, revival of pre-modern culture, and urban planning.

Other than background, Yorganci provided some interesting information about the Taksim neighborhood. For example, Beyolu, which is the larger area in which Taksim is located, is actually a “modernized Ottoman area.” Historically, Beyolu was the edge of the city. Hence, we see an ancient aquaduct now just used for aesthetic purposes within the Taksim square. This area was the Grand Pera, historically. The entire area has also been “pedestrianized,” as in vehicular roads were converted to be solely pedestrian friendly- possibly a step back towards the “golden times” of the Ottoman empire.

Apparently, when the current president became the mayor of Beyolu, the first thing he wanted to do was build a mosque. Interestingly, this may reflect similar ambitions of sultans who built mosques in their names during their reigns (however, this connection may be a stretch). The mosque has yet to be built.

I also learned about a historical preservation law that allows the government to tear down current buildings to erect a historical building that was previously at that location. This law is a part of the conservation laws, but Yorganci wasn’t sure of the specific name. I will research into this.

There were several observations considering small and local businesses that correlate with tourism.
When we first arrived on Friday, Feb. 27, the Can Restaurant beside our hotel is pretty much tourists centered. Every employee had basic ability for English listening. Among them, one waiter was also proficient in oral English so communication is guaranteed. This situation is dominant in local restaurants or dessert places in tourist-centered districts like Fatih. I spoke with the owner for a fish restaurant in Fatih who traveled to different countries and studied abroad. He is proficient in Arabic, Turkish, English, and French.

The owner of Halis Bekrizade Efendi, a dessert place near Karakoy Fehicular, told me that they learned basic expressions of different languages from apps on phone like Dolingo. He said, “Understanding different languages is necessary if you have a store in tourists-centered districts. Foreign costumers will feel surprised when you bump out several phrases in their languages and thus tend to buy more stuff.”

Local corporations also realize the importance of tourism in their business. The transit company we had a talk with on Thursday, May. 5th, is developing to make the metros more tourists-friendly. Metro stations on European side of Istanbul where tourist attractions are concentrated have English announcement and signs. Also, they cooperate with local school in setting up student volunteers who can speak foreign languages to stations in summer (high season of tourists).

We arrived in Izmir on March 5th, and I fall in love with this city, its blue coast and its relaxing life style.

On March 6th, we first went to an activity in memory of rape victims. This activity is amazing.

People are building the memorial wall.

There are people leaving their support words. Our group member David wrote down an impressive sentence: all humans deserve to live without fear and with dignity. I think this is what everyone should promote and defend.

 Today’s meeting with Mayor of Izmir Aziz Kocaoğlu, one of top 10 mayors of the world, is considered the highlight of all academic/professional activities in the trip. During the meeting, we asked questions in various fields including economic development, women’s rights, Syrian refugees, and the city image of Izmir. I think one of the main reasons for Mayor Kocaoglu’s achievement is his success in economic development. He said that he only made investment in sustainable projects. One example he gave is that he invested in subway systems instead of buses. This is a smart choice, as buses need to be replaced by new ones after about 5 years, while metros can last more years. In addition, Mayor Kocaoğlu pointed out that subways could generate more government revenues. He also discussed historical renovation projects in Izmir and the plan to attract more tourists to increase government revenues. Government revenues play a significant role in the development of a city and can create a virtuous cycle of the economic development. With more revenues, better infrastructure will be constructed, more services will be delivered, and quality of life will be improved, which attracts more tourists, labor force, and capital investment. Mayor Kocaoğlu is very charming. One can feel his dynamics and passion for his work  from his talks. The meeting with Mayor Kocaoglu is awesome. I do not only gain a deeper insight of urban governance but also get impressed by his personal charm.