Social Spatialization in a Turkish Squatter Settlement

Book excerpt: This book aims to expose an alternative local historical reading of the formation of a gecekondu space, a settlement of irregularly self-constructed habitats built by former peasants randomly over night. The social construction of the neighborhood space is narrated by means of insider perspectives and using qualitative techniques. In this reading, it will be made explicit that the dynamics of strategic interventions in local space, and tactical acts of the migrants in producing their locality are intertwined processes. The ethnic identities through sectarian and hometown affiliations have constituted the main means by which the migrants have developed certain tactics in dealing with the strategical acts on the vertical level (relations with the actors of urban planning and local politics) and other tactical acts on the horizontal level (relations with other sectarian and hometown groups in the locality).