Selin Oeztuerk Master of International Planning and Spatial Design

Urban Transformation and Spatial Pressure in Beyoğlu: Activist Communities and the Right to Remain in Istanbul

This dissertation examines how urban transformation under an increasingly authoritarian government reshapes the spatial conditions for queer, feminist and activist life in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Beyoğlu was historically shaped by queer communities and other marginalised groups and has been a central site for activism, notably Istanbul’s Pride March, which has been banned since 2015. However, over the past decade, the area and its communities have come under growing government scrutiny and have undergone significant and strategically directed changes to their urban environment. These changes reflect a broader state- led regeneration agenda to reshape Beyoğlu’s urban and social fabric in ways that prioritise a conservative political interest.

The study utilises historic and policy analysis alongside qualitative interviews with activists who have lived in or experienced Beyoğlu, applying theories of spatial justice and authoritarian urbanism to a case largely absent from existing literature. 

It examines how communities adapt, resist or reorganise under this spatial and political pressure. The research contributes to an understanding of how urban planning and governance can be instrumentalised to reshape the fabric of a neighbourhood through the lived experiences of queer people and activists in Beyoğlu. In so doing, it aims to show how planning practices can marginalise people in a formally democratic and secular country.