The Great Failure: The Roles of Institutional Conflict and Social Movements in the Failure of Regeneration Initiatives in Istanbul

Abstract

Between 2004 and 2019, more than 30 areas in Istanbul have been earmarked as regeneration zones. But as of August 2019, only two projects are completed while the rest either never reached implementation stage or are stopped by courts, despite the right macroeconomic conditions and unflinching governmental will. Why? The answers lie in the ill-designed legal/institutional infrastructure behind urban regeneration, the conflictual relations between various stakeholders, and the effective utilization of the law by groups opposing the projects. The ill-designed policy generated serious legal uncertainties, institutional clashes, and lack of trust among stakeholders, which raised transaction costs and led to project failures. This has not, however, led the government toward reforming the policy to make it more rational. On the contrary, it has led to a more centralized and authoritarian policy framework. I demonstrate these arguments through an analysis of four failed projects in the city.