Land and Housing Rent in Turkey: An Assessment Based on Ruşen Keleş Readings

Abstract

The rapid increase in the urban population, as a consequence of industrialization, has led to the emergence of the housing problem as the most crucial urban issue on a global scale. Accordingly, housing need has increased the demand for the urban land, but the scarcity of the land has led to the emergence of the phenomenon of rent. Although there are various approaches related to the concept of rent, based on these approaches, it seems that rent has political as well as economic meanings. Ruşen Keleş states that the main factor shaping the economic policies in Turkey is the rent creation and sharing motive that dominates the real estate sector, and underlines that the rent directs every aspect of life, especially the economy. This study aims to examine the urban land rent caused by the efforts to solve the housing problem in Turkey, and the capital accumulation process caused by this situation, through the determinations of Ruşen Keleş in his works on the subject. Within the scope of the study, Istanbul Fikirtepe Urban Transformation Zone has been evaluated as one of the important project areas where capital accumulation and rent has occurred.