Transformation of the Space in the Context of Neoliberal Urbanization: the Case of İzmir New City Centre, Turkey

Abstract

The neoliberalism process of Turkey, the intersection point of the Global South and the Global North, which dates back to the 1980s when neoliberalism became a dominant paradigm in the world, began to rapidly transform urban space in the 2000s. With the transformation of capital out of İstanbul, the main application area of neoliberal urbanization in Turkey, the other metropolitan cities of Turkey have been involved in the process of neoliberalization. In İzmir, the third largest metropolitan city of Turkey, the area which is declared New City Centre (NCC) in 2003 has become one of the important application areas of neoliberal urbanization policies. The neoliberalization process of NCC is carried out through large-scale urban projects which are one of the important implementation tools of neoliberal urbanization policies and intervene in the economic, social and cultural areas as well as urban space. In this context, the aim of this study is decipher neoliberal urbanization-oriented process and variables of neoliberal urbanization process in NCC and to reveal the neoliberal spatial transformation in the region on the basis of reproduction of the space.