Abstract

Neoliberal housing policies have been dominating the Turkish housing system since the 2000s. Housing has become more commodified than ever in the country. Homeownership was encouraged to the end, and construction of housing was both politically and financially supported as a state policy. The recent improvement in Turkey’s macroeconomic indicators has paved the way for the proposed establishment of the Istanbul International Finance Center (IIFC) in the Ninth Development Plan of the Turkish government. According to the plan, extensive urban development with very high building densities is on the cards. After being assigned a new IIFC in 2010, Ataşehir’s skyline has changed tremendously because of high-rise apartment blocks called “residences.” The way the Istanbul Ataşehir IIFC was assigned is problematic in more ways than one. The decision followed a top-down approach, based primarily on economic returns in disregard of the social and spatial repercussions. The IIFC plan brought excessive development rights, and considering the additional population commuting to the area, new IIFC urban development will lead to further decreases in the ratio of social facility areas in Ataşehir.