On The Edge

Tarlabaşı - Başakşehır, Istanbul, Turkey, 2009–2013

 

Since June 2013, Turkey has been rocked by an unprecedented protest movement, triggered by plans to redevelop Gezi Park in Istanbul. Beyond this specific event, it is the AKP’s entire range of urban and social policies, spearheaded by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that is being called into question. A growing section of the population opposes projects deemed excessive, with serious social and environmental consequences, which also reveal close links between political power and major construction companies.

 

This photographic project, carried out between 2009 and 2013, offers a comparison of two Istanbul neighbourhoods that are polar opposites: Tarlabaşı and Başakşehır. Two urban margins, two visions of the city.

 

Tarlabaşı, a central neighbourhood near Taksim Square, has historically been home to marginalised communities. For several years now, it has been undergoing a brutal transformation: rapid gentrification, widespread demolition, and property speculation. The most vulnerable residents are gradually being forced out to distant suburbs, whilst luxury property developments are reshaping the urban landscape.

 

In contrast, Başakşehir, on the outskirts of the city, embodies a planned new town. Conceived as a development model for the conservative middle classes, this neighbourhood has become a testing ground for the lifestyle promoted by the AKP. Cleanliness, security and the affirmation of religious values characterise this rapidly expanding area, marked by controlled urbanisation and a high degree of social and cultural homogeneity.

 

Between a changing city centre and a developing outskirts, On The Edge explores the urban, social and political divides running through contemporary Turkey. This project highlights two opposing yet complementary dynamics: the gradual exclusion of vulnerable populations on the one hand, and the creation of a new urban ideal on the other.