Residential Segregation in a Highly Unequal Society: Istanbul in the 2000s

Abstract

AbstractContrary to trends in many European countries, income inequality in Turkey, measured by the Gini coefficient, has declined between 1994 and 2014, with a small but consistent increase since then. Turkish income inequality is among the highest in OECD countries, with levels not lower than 0.4. This chapter will examine residential socio-economic segregation in Istanbul against the backdrop of this relatively stable and high-income inequality. The chapter shows signs that residential segregation is on the rise. Istanbul has undergone a radical change in the 2000s thanks to active intervention by the state in the real estate market by opening up large pieces of land in the outskirts and gentrifying inner-city areas once occupied by unauthorized settlements that once were home to the poor. Dynamics of urban development, fueled by rapid urban sprawl in peri-urban areas and ceaseless gentrification of inner-city areas, gave way to diverse patterns of segregation depending on the already existing divisions and physical geography of cities. Given the lack of neighbourhood level data on either occupations or income, this chapter analyses segregation through indices based on fertility and educational level, which we know from detailed household microdata are closely correlated with income. On the basis of 2000 and 2017 neighbourhood data, we show that in Istanbul, there is a clearly visible pattern where the poor are progressively pushed further to the city limits, while some parts of built-up areas once home to middle classes, were recaptured by the poor. The result in some parts of the city is a juxtaposition of seemingly conflicting patterns: parts of the inner city were reclaimed by the poor while some parts were gentrified led by the nascent urban elite. The urban periphery was partly occupied by the bourgeoning middle classes and was also home to the urban poor who were displaced by urban transformation projects.