Sulukule was one of the most famous neighborhoods in Istanbul because of the Romani culture and historic identity. In 2006, the Fatih Municipality knocked on the residents’ doors with an urban renovation project. The community really did not know how they could retain their residence in the neighborhood; unfortunately everybody knew that they would not prosper in another place without their community connections. They were poor and had many issues impeding their livelihoods, but there should have been another solution that did not involve eviction. People, associations, different volunteer groups, universities in Istanbul, and also some trade associations were supporting the people of Sulukule. The Sulukule Platform was founded as this predicament began and fought against government eviction for years. In 2009, the area was totally destroyed, although the community did everything possible to save their neighborhood through the support of the Sulukule Platform. I cannot say that they lost everything in this process, but I also cannot say that anything was won. I can only say that the Fatih Municipality soiled its hands. No one will forget Sulukule, but everybody will remember the Fatih Municipality with this unsuccessful project.
Sulukule stands out as a symbolic case for social justice groups that promote the expansion of civil rights and defend neighborhoods that struggle for their rights. Therefore, the Sulukule Platform shows that another form of transformation which involves public participation in the decision-making phase of planning is possible in the cities. This study aims to demonstrate how the advocacy planning method is significant in planning for communities.
This thesis proposes to present a full report of the Sulukule Platform case. It also provides a historical background that works to contextualize Sulukule and their struggle into the broader context of socio-economic inequalities in Istanbul and the fight of inhabitants in urban transformation areas for their civil rights. The study focuses on one of the less experimented planning models, advocacy planning, and analyzes its first incidence in Turkey through the Sulukule Platform. Also it examines public participation and its place in the urban planning profession.
This thesis, first, will help to show how Turkish public officials failed to learn from the mistakes of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s; second, it will look at how the urban renewal is being implemented in developing countries especially in Turkey. I will argue that because globalizing-cities like Istanbul are being pressured to implement urban renewal but are often failing to learn lessons from American and European urban renewal.