2020 Urban Research Award: Socio-Spatial Politics of Risk Mitigation: Building-Scale Urban Transformation Maps of Istanbul, Turkey

PI: Ladin Bayurgil, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Co-PI: Japonica Brown-Saracino, PhD, Professor, Department of Sociology, College of Arts & Sciences and BU Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program

In an era of ever growing global cities facing climate and environmental hazards, financial crises and pandemics, risk calculation and anticipation became main organizing principles of contemporary cities. In dialogue with the literature on socio-spatial politics of risk, Ladin’s research examines the ways in which risk calculation and mitigation efforts shape the housing market and community life on the urban scale. Through GIS mapping techniques, Ladin will generate a map of Turkey’s biggest city Istanbul’s earthquake risk mitigation efforts, particularly ongoing earthquake-risk mitigating urban transformation projects that involve demolition and reconstruction of multi-unit buildings determined to be earthquake-prone. By mapping clusters and waves of urban growth that result in increase in the real estate value and new in and out migratory flows, this research demonstrates which urban areas are designated as risky and hence worthy of pre-emptive and reactive management, funding and intervention, and others not. While underlining the importance of data-driven decision making on the provision of new services, this research bridges ethnographic fieldwork with mapping tools with the aim of creation of inclusive, fair and just urban policies.

Publications

Bayurgil, L. (2021). Fired and Evicted: Istanbul Doorkeepers’ Strategies of Navigating Employment and Housing Precarity. Social Problems, spab013.

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