Urban transformation gone awry: A decade-long gentrification disaster in Tarlabaşı
Demolitions began in early 2012 for a controversial gentrification project in Istanbul's most notorious neighborhood, yet the project remains unceremoniously unfinished as of 2023.
“What every society looks for in continuing to produce, and to overproduce, is to restore the real that escapes it,” wrote Jean Baudrillard in his magnum opus Simulacra and Simulation. He may have reserved harsher words for the controversial Taksim 360 project in Istanbul’s notorious Tarlabaşı neighborhood, where one might say that an attempt to ‘restore the real that has been destroyed’ is currently taking place.
Those familiar with the history of Tarlabaşı as a middle-class Greek neighborhood that gradually transformed into a disintegrating urban zone inhabited by Turkey’s most disenfranchised groups would perhaps be appalled at the crass manner in which the Taksim 360 project halfheartedly attempts to recreate an essence of the historic fabric of the neighborhood. It is dotted with fountains, bay windows and European touches that characterize many of the buildings that still stand in Tarlabaşı or have been left to rot amid decades of neglect.
Launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and undertaken by a company owned by a close ally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the project was initially dubbed Tarlabaşı 360, but at some point those in charge thought that changing its name to Taksim 360 would be more appealing to investors as the new name both embraced the proximity of the project to Istanbul’s main square and shed the association of the infamous neighborhood, the heart of where it is being built.
According to Taksim 360’s official website, the project includes upwards of 500 apartments, 120 offices, 140 commercial units, a Hilton Hotel with 110 rooms, and a parking garage with a capacity for 550 vehicles.
“Taksim 360 was designed with a horizontal architectural approach that does not ruin the silhouette of the city, but adds value to it and provides the opportunity to preserve its historical texture. With this design approach aimed to improve the quality of life in every sense, Taksim 360 offers a more natural life experience that is more integrated with the daily life of the district it is located in,” is among the lofty statements that the website uses to advertise the project. Taking a short walk around the area would leave anyone highly suspicious that this is anywhere near the truth.
Legal and financial issues have beset the vast project over the years, though shops have begun to open in some of the completed large buildings directly on Tarlabaşı Boulevard. Interestingly enough, one is a wig shop. (Tarlabaşı has the highest concentration of wig shops anywhere in Istanbul or Turkey for that matter, an interesting topic that might I tackle in a separate article). This is in contrast to other high-investment projects, such as Piyalepaşa Istanbul, which was built following the demolition of half of Hacıhüsrev, another Beyoğlu neighborhood with a less-than-savory reputation. A construction worker recently told me that the plan is to hand over keys in 2024, but a walk around the perimeter of Taksim 360 suggests that significant sections are far from finished.
The corrugated metal fencing that surrounds much of the project creates narrow alleys between the new construction and the buildings that fall outside of the project, and it is a rather spooky maze to navigate. I pass by two young men and the strong scent of quality marijuana hits my nostrils. They are hanging out smoking a joint in a discrete corner on a short staircase. I ask if there is a nearby way out and they tell me to hang a right and press on.
The most run-down parts of Tarlabaşı are the streets and homes immediately adjacent to the project, not surprising as more than a decade of intermittent construction and the ensuing dust and noise have driven many people out, leaving only the most disadvantaged behind, which include recently-arrived African refugees. Otherwise, the neighborhood is a fairly large area and the protracted project has not been successful in gentrifying the rest of it.
Will Taksim 360 be finished by next year, fully occupied by new homeowners, shops and cafes? I doubt it, as I’ve followed this project moving at a snail’s pace now for almost 12 years. My initial thoughts are that the six-lane Tarlabaşı Boulevard that separates the neighborhood from the much busier and popular section of Beyoğlu will be a major deterrent for most prospective buyers who have done their research. At the end of the day, Tarlabaşı has by and large retained its run-down, gritty neighborhood character, and an aggressive gentrification project has not been able to change that entirely.
On the contrary, the failure of this project to be completed quickly may have made Tarlabaşı even less desirable to investors and/or prospective tenants/buyers, and could have prevented a more ‘natural’ process of gentrification if it had never been launched in the first place. This possibility is worth considering in light of the deep housing crises that Istanbul and Turkey’s other major cities are experiencing, where luxury homes are left vacant while there is a massive demand for and insufficient supply of affordable rentals.
*For more information about Tarlabaşı, listen to this excellent interview on William Armstrong’s Turkey Book Podcast with journalist and academic Constanze Letsch about her book “Territorial Stigmatisation: Urban Renewal and Displacement in a Central Istanbul Neighborhood. Also see “Tarlabaşı: ‘Another World’ in The City by Nermin Saybaşılı.