Gentrification in Question: The Case of Bursa, Turkey

Gentrification in Question: The Case of Bursa, Turkey

Biçki, Doğan
Özgökçeler, Serhat

Gentrification can be interpreted as a return of the affluent people to the city. This process is supported by authorities both due to the contributions it could make to the city in many ways. The studies concentrating on the subjective and cultural motives prioritize the characteristics that can be called “positive attributes” of gentrification in general, such as the conservation of the historical architecture by the renewal efforts as a positive outcome. While accepting the advantages provided by the gentrification for urban renewal, it can be claimed that it brings about social problems. The opportunity of cheap housing in the city center is lost as a consequence of the gentrification, and therefore the low-income groups holding jobs in the center are forced to move to distant locations. In this scope, the goal of the study is to identify whether the urban renewal observed in the Tophane, Hisar district in Bursa, one of the historical cities in Turkey, could be analyzed through the concept “gentrification”.

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2010-06

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