‘Population growth and immigration from rural areas to cities have created an enormous housing demand, which has been one of the major problems of Turkey since the 1950s. National governments, local authorities and even universities were not prepared when faced with such a rapid urbanization process. As a result of this uncontrolled process, our big cities, and especially Istanbul, underwent big structural changes. According to Zeynep Çelik, Istanbul has had to face two major transformations in its history because of its unique location. The first of these took place after the conquest of the city by Mehmet II in 1453, and the second took place in the nineteenth century. In this second, government-sponsored transformation, modernization efforts recast traditional urban policies based on Islamic law, and replaced the urban administration, institutions and organizations with new ones.’ (Z. Çelik, 1991, pi6) The third and perhaps the most radical transformation started in the 1960s, when Istanbul started to attract migrants from all over the country. This third transformation can be analysed in different phases: In the 1950s and 1960s public housing, mass housing production and housing cooperatives were the main developments, but these mainly government-funded projects did not meet the demand, especially in big cities like Istanbul when it started to attract an extraordinary number of migrants. As a result of massive migration, illegal housing developments started to emerge in the 1950s on green areas or empty lands near the centre and then spread to the outskirts of the city as the number of migrants kept growing. SquatterizationGecekondulasma became the main pattern to meet the housing demands of newcomers. Parallel to these developments, the existing city structure started to be transformed by new city plans where the municipality changed the land use patterns. The density of these areas was increased and existing low-rise housing units were developed into 5- or 6-storey apartment buildings at the initiative of the private sector. The Kocaeli earthquake in 1999 had a serious impact on new developments and not only the central government but the inhabitants themselves started to question whether their environment, the communal facilities, and the houses and flats themselves were earthquake resistant. This new phenomenon, together with the emerging economic dynamism, gave birth to a new transformation process. This process, which has come about only in recent years, may be classified as the fourth phase. Since the year 2000, Istanbul has been involved in a new transformation process with new urban transformation projects, transportation systems, new international investments, new land policies and Grand Projects. Since the year 2000, housing demand and provision in Turkey have been re-shaped, and both the public and private sectors have started to realise urban transformation projects based on new legal developments by the government and municipalities. Condominium projects have started to be large in scale and gated communities have become a reality. In this paper, the transformations that Istanbul has undergone since the beginning of the 20th century will be outlined and analysed. Future developments will be discussed in the conclusion. Copyright©2012 IAHS.
