Unlocking Planning Through Everyday Life Narratives: The Case Of Istanbul, Esenler Havaalani Neighbourhood

Abstract

As the global urban agenda is increasingly being restructured by a major emphasis on the reproduction of urban space as an opportunity space both in the developed but more in the developing world, the implications on the society become a major subject in the current urban discourse. The current urban agenda of Istanbul implies constant pressure to renewal every square meter of the urban spatiality including inner-city slums, peripheral migrant neighborhoods, and historic neighborhoods. The casualties in the process of transformation of cities do not solely reflect the change of ownership patterns, the disappearance of security, the destruction of urban fabric; the same process also draws on the loss of communities, their heritage, and memories. The mechanized system created by the standardization on transformation approach erases the 'simple' everyday life routines, and new urban areas are created where the individual cannot exist. Based on a story of one family in Istanbul’s Esenler Havaalani Neighbourhood, the research that is constructed upon in-depth interviews attempts to explore everyday life allows and to showcase a holistic quest on the need for inclusiveness, empowerment, and resilience in a world of isolation, fragmentation, and displacement. Listening to the stories of people and learning from their everyday life narratives is therefore essential for strengthening the bond between the city and society in unlocking planning.