Again this year: Istanbul. Great lack of originality, as the previous RUPS team went there as well, but we did not regret at all to have followed their steps. Our project was however different. Andy advised us to get in touch with the former LSE PhD student, Murat Cemal Yalcintan who is now a professor at the Mimar Sinan University of Istanbul. Murat suggested us to work together with his students in order to propose alternative solutions to a heavily criticised regeneration project in Sulukule, an area in the Western part of the city. We were very much aware of the challenges that it represented, but also exited to take them up.
Sulukule is a neighbourhood where Roma people have traditionally lived. 10 years ago, it was a place famous for its lively music and entertainment houses. Since then, the houses have been closed by the government, and they are now demolished one by one in order to make room for medium-upper class housing. There has been resistance against the project from UNESCO as the area is part of a world heritage site due to the proximity of the old city wall. Further, the Sulukule Platform has been created by volunteers and academics to protest against the plan and the inadequacy of the social answer.
However, there is a lack of mobilisation of the local population, which makes the resistance very difficult. This is striking, since the solution proposed by the municipality is the displacement of this community to a site about 30 kilometres away from the city. Even though the people will be housed in new apartment blocks, then the rent will be too high for the solution to be sustainable. Moreover, these flats are made for an individualistic and Western way of life, while these people are used to a "community-lifestyle" around small courtyards where most of the time is spend outside on the streets. Overall, this project will therefore endanger the culture of this population.
We went to visit the area and had talks about this issue. Finally, we had a workshop with the students from the Mimar Sinan University of Istanbul who helped us further strengthen our knowledge about the project before working together on alternative solutions. We focused on temporary answers to accommodate with peoples' direct needs according to their age and gender. We emphasised the need to support and empower the whole community, notably with a better access to information. We finally presented the results of this workshop to the representatives of the Sulukule Platform.
Apart from this fieldwork, we have had plenty of time to explore and enjoy the rest of Istanbul with the local students and teachers. We got an introduction to the Istanbul life thanks to them. There were plenty of sweets, teas, kebabs and backgammon competitions. A lot of the time was spent just wandering around in the city, and the luckiest of us stayed for a long enough time to enjoy an amazing day on one of the Princess Islands.
Istanbul was exciting and exotic. It was interesting to work on the project, and also fun to spend a week with your classmates from all around the world in a tiny and basic dorm...
/Caroline de Francqueville & Teis Hansen
