Poor Women at the Grip of Neoliberal Urbanism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33831/jws.v17i2.210Keywords:
neoliberalism, urbanization, slum renewal, participation, poverty, security, daily life, women experiences, patriarchal relations, gender rolesAbstract
Neoliberal ideology and its profit-driven policies have rapidly gained worldwide popularity in urbanization process since 1970s. Especially in the global south, it is argued that slum renewal projects—as an engine of neoliberal capital accumulation—were constructed through gendered discourses which also relied on women’s capacity for the material and social welfare of the family and community. From this point, some feminists warn about the danger of producing neoconservative lifestyle for women via neoliberalism and its liberal gender mainstreaming policies which is called ‘new patriarchal reforms’. Turkish urban areas are no exception of this process. Especially after new regulations for urban transformation and decentralisation in 2000s, the rent-seeking slum renewal projects in the city centers based on women participation for developing informal solidarity and sustainability of the development are co-implemented by TOKI (Housing Development Administration) and the municipalities. Thus, I argue that there is a strong connection between the ‘gender specific characteristics of decentralization’ and the slum renewal projects in which many paradoxes have arised between the policy discourse and the daily life of women within the context of women civil rights. As a matter of fact, daily life experiences of poor women in Ankara-Aktaş district have showed that urbanization process has been shaped by patriarchal assumptions about citizenship, identity and needs which is paradoxically deepening gender inequalities. In this study, the paradoxes between slum renewal policy discourses and transformation of women daily lives which make the process 'impossible’ are discussed with respect to feminist ethnographic field study implemented in Ankara-Aktaş district (Altındağ) between January 2012-March 2013. Consequently, statements of poor women provide us significant information about paradoxical nature of neoliberal urbanization and the ideal urban structure based on gender equality.
References
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Buğra A. (2012). The Changing Welfare Regime of Turkey: Neoliberalism, Cultural Conservatism and Social Solidarity Redefined. In Dedeoğlu S. & Elveren A.Y. (Eds.), Gender and Society in Turkey: The Impact of Neoliberal Policies, Political Islam and EU Accession (1. Edition). Newyork: I.B. Tauris: 15-31.
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Dedeoğlu S. (2013). Veiled Europeanisation of Welfare State in Turkey: Gender and Social Policy in 2000’s. Women’s Studies International Forum, 41: 7-13.
De Wit J. & Berner E. (2009). Progressive Patronage? Municipalities, NGOs, CBOs and the Limits to Slum Dwellers’ Empowerment. Development and Change, 40(5): 927–947.
Doshi S. (2012). Politics of Persuation: Gendered Slum Citizenship in Neoliberal Mumbai. In Desai R. & Sanyal R. (Eds.), Urbanizing Citizenship: Contested Places in Indian Cities. India: SAGE Publications: 83-108.
Erman T. (2007). Çandarlı-Hıdırlıktepe (Altındağ, Ankara) Örneği Üzerin den Suç ve Mekân İlişkisi ve Mahalleli Deneyimleri: Dosya 06. TMMOB Mimarlar Odası Ankara Şubesi Bülteni, 55: 30-34.
Erman T. (2010). Kent ve Gecekondu. In Uğurlu Ö., Pınarcıoğlu N.Ş., Kanbak A. & Şiriner M. (Eds.), Türkiye Perspektifinden Kent Sosyolojisi Çalışmaları. İstanbul: Örgün Yayınevi: 227-266.
Ersavaş Ö. (2009). Gecekondu Alanlarının Dönüşümü: Ankara Gültepe Mahallesi Örneği. Unpublished Master Thesis. Ankara: Ankara University.
Fenster T. (2005). The Right to the Gendered City: Different Formations of Belonging in Everyday Life. Journal of Gendered Studies, 14(3): 217-231.
Gruffydd Jones, B. (2012). “Bankable Slums”: The Global Politics of Slum Upgrading. Third World Quarterly, 33 (5): 769-789.
Güzey Ö. (2009). Urban Regeneration and Increased Competitive Power: Ankara in an Era of Globalisation. Cities, 26: 27-37.
Haberankara Newspaper (2013). Interview with Mayor of Altındağ Municipality (2013, 20 November). Internet adress: http://www.haber-ankara.com/haber /2193/veysel-tiryaki-altindagin-tamami-en-buyuk-projem.html. Access: 2.5. 2015.
Kahuri S.K. (2010). Engendered Land Administration System–Mysore Slum Upgrading. Unpublished Master Thesis, International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation Enschede, The Netherlands.
Kongar E. (1974). Altındağ’da Kentle Bütünleşme. Amme İdaresi Dergisi, 6(3): 59-84.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1964a). Ankara-Gülveren Gecekondu Araştırması. Gecekondu Ön Çalışmaları 2, Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1964b). Ankara-Çinçin Bağları Gecekondu Araştırması. Gecekondu Ön Çalışmaları 3, Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1964c). Ankara-Topraklık Gecekondu Araştırması. Gecekondu Ön Çalışmaları 4, Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1964d). Ankara- Gülveren- Çinçin Bağları ve Topraklık Gecekonduları. Gecekondu Ön Çalışmaları 5, Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1968). Gecekondular ve Gecekondu Bölgelerinin Sosyo-Kültürel Özellikleri. Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Mukhiva V. (2001). Enabling Slum Redevelopment in Mumbai: Policy Paradox in Practice. Housing Studies, 16(6): 791-806.
Nyametso K. (2012). Resetlement of Slum Dwellers, Land Tenure Security and Improved Housing, Living and Environmental Conditions at Madina Estate: Accra, Ghana. Urban Forum, 23: 343-365.
Özkaleli U. (2015). State of the State in their Minds: Intersectional Framework for Women’s Citizenship in Turkey. Women’s Studies International Forum, 48: 93-102.
Pritchett R. (2011). Land Titling as Women’s Empowerment: Critical Observations from Recife Brazil. Unpublished Master Thesis of Urban Planning in Urban Planning in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
Rabenhorsst C.S. & Bean A. (2011). Gender and Property Rights: A Critical Issue in Urban Economic Development. Washington: The International Housing Coalition and the Urban Institute Report. Internet adress: http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/412387-gender-and-property-ights.pdf. Access: 1.5.2015.
Rashid S.F. (2009). Strategies to Reduce Exclusion Among Populations Living in Urban Slum Settlements in Bangladesh. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 27(4): 574-586.
Razavii S. & Hassim S. (2006). Gender and Social Policy in a Global Context Uncovering the Gendered Structure of ‘the Social’. In Razavii S. & Hassim S. (Eds.), Gender and Social Policy in a Global Context Uncovering the Gendered Structure of ‘the Social’. New York: Palgrave Macmillan: 1-43.
Roy A. ( 2009). Civic governmentality: the politics of inclusion in Beirut and Mumbai. Antipode, 41(1): 159-179.
Sakızlıoğlu N.B. (2007). Impacts of Urban Renewal Policies: The Case of Tarlabaşı-İstanbul. Unpublished Master Thesis, Ankara: METU.
Secor A. (2004). ‘There is an İstanbul that Belongs to Me’: Citizenship, Space, and Identity in the City. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 94(2): 352–368.
Smith N. (1996). The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and The Revanchist City. London: Routledge.
Şen B. (2006). Kentsel Gerilemeyi Aşmada Çelişkili Bir Süreç Olarak Soylulaştırma: Galata Örneği. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, İstanbul.
Şenyapılı T. (2004). "Baraka"dan “Gecekondu”ya - Ankara'da Kentsel Mekânın Dönüşümü: 1923-1960. İstanbul: İletişim yayınları.
Taher M.T. & Arefeen İ. (2014). Transformation of Slum and Squatter Settlements: A Way of Sustainable Living in Context of 21st Century Cities. American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2(2): 70-76.
UNCHS (2008). Local Finans Facilities: What They Are, Why They Are Important and How They Work, Slum Upgrading Facility. Working Paper 8, Nairobi: United Nations Human Settlements.
Uzun N.C. (2003). The Impact of Urban Renewal and Gentrification on Urban Fabric: Three Cases in Turkey. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 34(3): 363-375.
Uzunçarşılıoğlu-Baysal C. (2010). İstanbul’u Küresel Kent Yapma Aracı Olarak Kentsel Dönüsüm ve Ardındaki Konut İhlalleri: Ayazma(n)’dan Bezirganbahçe’ye Tutunamayanlar. Unpublished Master Thesis. İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi University.
Yaraş S. (2014). A Historical Synopsis of Over-Feminized Local Governance in Neoliberal Turkey. Turkish Studies, 15(1): 100-116.
Young I.M. (1998). Polity and Group Difference: A Critique of the Ideal of Universal Citizenship. In Shafir G. (Ed.) The Citizenship Debate. London: University of Minnesota Press: 263-290.
Yuval-Davis, N. (2000). Citizenship, Territoriality and Gendered Construction of Difference. In Isin E. (Ed.), Democracy, Citizenship and The Global City. London: Routledge: 171-187.
Anti Squat Law (No: 775/1966).
Mass Housing Law (No: 2985/2004).
The law About the Rehabilitation of Historical and Cultural Property (No: 5366/2005).
The Law Concerning the Northern Entry to Ankara Urban Renewal Project (No: 5104/2004).
The Law of Encouraging Social Assistance and Solidarity (No: 3294/ 1986).
The Law of Greater City Municipalities (No: 5216/2004).
The Law of Municipalities (No: 5272/2005).
The Law on The Regeneration of Areas under Disaster Risk (No: 6306/2012).
The Protocol Between Altındağ Municipality and TOKI (2005).
Altındağ Municipality (2006). Altındağ Municipality 2006 – 2009 Strategic Plan.
Arrigoitia M.F. (2010). Constructing ‘the Other’, Practicing Resistance: Public Housing and Community Politics in Puerto Rico. Internet adress: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/335/1/Fern%C3%A1ndez%20Arrigoitia%20Constructing%20the%20other%20(thesis).pdf. Access: 5.4.2015.
Berger T. (2006). Slum Areas and Insecure Tenure in Urban Sub-Saharan Africa: A conceptual Rewiev of African Best Practices. Unpublished Master Thesis Uppsala University, Uppsala.
Buğra A. (2012). The Changing Welfare Regime of Turkey: Neoliberalism, Cultural Conservatism and Social Solidarity Redefined. In Dedeoğlu S. & Elveren A.Y. (Eds.), Gender and Society in Turkey: The Impact of Neoliberal Policies, Political Islam and EU Accession (1. Edition). Newyork: I.B. Tauris: 15-31.
De Certeau M. (1984). The Practice of Every Day Life (Trans: Rendall S.) London: University of California Press. Internet adress: http://faculty.georg etown.edu/irvinem/theory/DeCerteau-Practice-Excerpts.pdf. Access: 15.5. 2015.
Dedeoğlu S. (2013). Veiled Europeanisation of Welfare State in Turkey: Gender and Social Policy in 2000’s. Women’s Studies International Forum, 41: 7-13.
De Wit J. & Berner E. (2009). Progressive Patronage? Municipalities, NGOs, CBOs and the Limits to Slum Dwellers’ Empowerment. Development and Change, 40(5): 927–947.
Doshi S. (2012). Politics of Persuation: Gendered Slum Citizenship in Neoliberal Mumbai. In Desai R. & Sanyal R. (Eds.), Urbanizing Citizenship: Contested Places in Indian Cities. India: SAGE Publications: 83-108.
Erman T. (2007). Çandarlı-Hıdırlıktepe (Altındağ, Ankara) Örneği Üzerin den Suç ve Mekân İlişkisi ve Mahalleli Deneyimleri: Dosya 06. TMMOB Mimarlar Odası Ankara Şubesi Bülteni, 55: 30-34.
Erman T. (2010). Kent ve Gecekondu. In Uğurlu Ö., Pınarcıoğlu N.Ş., Kanbak A. & Şiriner M. (Eds.), Türkiye Perspektifinden Kent Sosyolojisi Çalışmaları. İstanbul: Örgün Yayınevi: 227-266.
Ersavaş Ö. (2009). Gecekondu Alanlarının Dönüşümü: Ankara Gültepe Mahallesi Örneği. Unpublished Master Thesis. Ankara: Ankara University.
Fenster T. (2005). The Right to the Gendered City: Different Formations of Belonging in Everyday Life. Journal of Gendered Studies, 14(3): 217-231.
Gruffydd Jones, B. (2012). “Bankable Slums”: The Global Politics of Slum Upgrading. Third World Quarterly, 33 (5): 769-789.
Güzey Ö. (2009). Urban Regeneration and Increased Competitive Power: Ankara in an Era of Globalisation. Cities, 26: 27-37.
Haberankara Newspaper (2013). Interview with Mayor of Altındağ Municipality (2013, 20 November). Internet adress: http://www.haber-ankara.com/haber /2193/veysel-tiryaki-altindagin-tamami-en-buyuk-projem.html. Access: 2.5. 2015.
Kahuri S.K. (2010). Engendered Land Administration System–Mysore Slum Upgrading. Unpublished Master Thesis, International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation Enschede, The Netherlands.
Kongar E. (1974). Altındağ’da Kentle Bütünleşme. Amme İdaresi Dergisi, 6(3): 59-84.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1964a). Ankara-Gülveren Gecekondu Araştırması. Gecekondu Ön Çalışmaları 2, Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1964b). Ankara-Çinçin Bağları Gecekondu Araştırması. Gecekondu Ön Çalışmaları 3, Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1964c). Ankara-Topraklık Gecekondu Araştırması. Gecekondu Ön Çalışmaları 4, Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1964d). Ankara- Gülveren- Çinçin Bağları ve Topraklık Gecekonduları. Gecekondu Ön Çalışmaları 5, Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing (İmar ve İskân Bakanlığı) (1968). Gecekondular ve Gecekondu Bölgelerinin Sosyo-Kültürel Özellikleri. Ankara: Mesken Genel Müdürlüğü Araştırma Dairesi.
Mukhiva V. (2001). Enabling Slum Redevelopment in Mumbai: Policy Paradox in Practice. Housing Studies, 16(6): 791-806.
Nyametso K. (2012). Resetlement of Slum Dwellers, Land Tenure Security and Improved Housing, Living and Environmental Conditions at Madina Estate: Accra, Ghana. Urban Forum, 23: 343-365.
Özkaleli U. (2015). State of the State in their Minds: Intersectional Framework for Women’s Citizenship in Turkey. Women’s Studies International Forum, 48: 93-102.
Pritchett R. (2011). Land Titling as Women’s Empowerment: Critical Observations from Recife Brazil. Unpublished Master Thesis of Urban Planning in Urban Planning in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
Rabenhorsst C.S. & Bean A. (2011). Gender and Property Rights: A Critical Issue in Urban Economic Development. Washington: The International Housing Coalition and the Urban Institute Report. Internet adress: http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/412387-gender-and-property-ights.pdf. Access: 1.5.2015.
Rashid S.F. (2009). Strategies to Reduce Exclusion Among Populations Living in Urban Slum Settlements in Bangladesh. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 27(4): 574-586.
Razavii S. & Hassim S. (2006). Gender and Social Policy in a Global Context Uncovering the Gendered Structure of ‘the Social’. In Razavii S. & Hassim S. (Eds.), Gender and Social Policy in a Global Context Uncovering the Gendered Structure of ‘the Social’. New York: Palgrave Macmillan: 1-43.
Roy A. ( 2009). Civic governmentality: the politics of inclusion in Beirut and Mumbai. Antipode, 41(1): 159-179.
Sakızlıoğlu N.B. (2007). Impacts of Urban Renewal Policies: The Case of Tarlabaşı-İstanbul. Unpublished Master Thesis, Ankara: METU.
Secor A. (2004). ‘There is an İstanbul that Belongs to Me’: Citizenship, Space, and Identity in the City. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 94(2): 352–368.
Smith N. (1996). The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and The Revanchist City. London: Routledge.
Şen B. (2006). Kentsel Gerilemeyi Aşmada Çelişkili Bir Süreç Olarak Soylulaştırma: Galata Örneği. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, İstanbul.
Şenyapılı T. (2004). "Baraka"dan “Gecekondu”ya - Ankara'da Kentsel Mekânın Dönüşümü: 1923-1960. İstanbul: İletişim yayınları.
Taher M.T. & Arefeen İ. (2014). Transformation of Slum and Squatter Settlements: A Way of Sustainable Living in Context of 21st Century Cities. American Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2(2): 70-76.
UNCHS (2008). Local Finans Facilities: What They Are, Why They Are Important and How They Work, Slum Upgrading Facility. Working Paper 8, Nairobi: United Nations Human Settlements.
Uzun N.C. (2003). The Impact of Urban Renewal and Gentrification on Urban Fabric: Three Cases in Turkey. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 34(3): 363-375.
Uzunçarşılıoğlu-Baysal C. (2010). İstanbul’u Küresel Kent Yapma Aracı Olarak Kentsel Dönüsüm ve Ardındaki Konut İhlalleri: Ayazma(n)’dan Bezirganbahçe’ye Tutunamayanlar. Unpublished Master Thesis. İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi University.
Yaraş S. (2014). A Historical Synopsis of Over-Feminized Local Governance in Neoliberal Turkey. Turkish Studies, 15(1): 100-116.
Young I.M. (1998). Polity and Group Difference: A Critique of the Ideal of Universal Citizenship. In Shafir G. (Ed.) The Citizenship Debate. London: University of Minnesota Press: 263-290.
Yuval-Davis, N. (2000). Citizenship, Territoriality and Gendered Construction of Difference. In Isin E. (Ed.), Democracy, Citizenship and The Global City. London: Routledge: 171-187.
Anti Squat Law (No: 775/1966).
Mass Housing Law (No: 2985/2004).
The law About the Rehabilitation of Historical and Cultural Property (No: 5366/2005).
The Law Concerning the Northern Entry to Ankara Urban Renewal Project (No: 5104/2004).
The Law of Encouraging Social Assistance and Solidarity (No: 3294/ 1986).
The Law of Greater City Municipalities (No: 5216/2004).
The Law of Municipalities (No: 5272/2005).
The Law on The Regeneration of Areas under Disaster Risk (No: 6306/2012).
The Protocol Between Altındağ Municipality and TOKI (2005).
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Published
2016-12-12
How to Cite
Hatiboğlu Eren, B. (2016). Poor Women at the Grip of Neoliberal Urbanism. Kadın/Woman 2000, Journal for Women’s Studies, 17(2), 43–63. https://doi.org/10.33831/jws.v17i2.210
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