CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2025
| Author | Gul, Sergen |
|---|---|
| Title | The Production And Instrumentalization Of Territorial Stigmatization In Urban Renewal: A Case Study Of Roma Neighborhoods (Sulukule And Kucukbakkalkoy) In Istanbul |
| Summary | This thesis examines how territorial stigmatization is produced, instrumentalized, and capitalized in the context of urban transformation, focusing on the historical Roma neighborhoods of Sulukule and Küç&# xfc;kbakkalk&#x f6;y, located on two different continents of Istanbul. Centering on the current living conditions of Roma communities displaced approximately 15 years ago, the study adopts a qualitative multi-case analysis approach, drawing on interviews with experts and rights advocates (n=9), semi-structure interviews with displaced individuals (n=8), and a document analysis of relevant legal, institutional, and media documents. Wacquant’s cope with territorial stigma strategies from dissimulation to stigma inversion are empirically tested across both cases. Framed by theories of ‘advanced marginality’ (Wacquant), the ‘state of exception’ (Agamben), and ‘creative destruction’ (Harvey), the research demonstrates that territorial stigmatization is not merely a manifestation of socioeconomic exclusion, but also a deliberate governance technique and a tool for capitalist accumulation. The findings reveal that Roma individuals could not escape marginalizing effects even in their new settlement areas, and that the spatial persistence of stigma continues. This study offers a unique and comparative perspective on territorial stigmatization theory within the Turkish context. As one of the first systematic applications of the theory in Roma neighborhoods, it makes meaningful conceptual and practical contributions to debates on spatial justice, racialized displacement, and neoliberal urbanism. |
| Supervisor | Tamara Steger |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2025/gul_sergen02.pdf |
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