Bridging social distinction and cultural communities in(side) spatial boundries: example of a café chain in Istanbul

ABSTRACT Neo-liberal economy politics and the uprising of new high-spender conservative elites escalate radical urban transformations in Istanbul. Urban spaces that rapidly segregate from each other witness the symbolic conflicts of social groups that own cultural, economic and spatial capital. This study focuses on how a specific café chain in Istanbul is consumed as a privileged public space by its secular elite regulars and how they manifest their distinction, prestige, identity and belonging in the café. Accordingly, the eating and drinking experience in the café has been observed through a field study at this café’s seven branches in Istanbul. This study argues that the current symbolic conflict triggered by uncomfortable spatial proximity and balancing out discrepancies between Istanbul's conservative and secular elites could be interpreted within this particular social space of belonging and exclusion. We put forward that secular elites’ consumption practices with the exertion of a spatial capital formed a privileged social space representing territorial exclusionary claims on certain micro-places in İstanbul.