Critique of the Kartal-Pendik Project

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Urban and Regional Planning, London School of Economics, language: English, abstract: Kartal and Pendik are two districts of Istanbul located in the south coast of the Anatolian side. Together they host the "Urban Regeneration Project for Kartal sub-centre & Kartal-Pendik waterfront" area. In order to understand the projects development priorities, it is relevant to position it in the wider national and city context. [...]Kartal-Pendiks story has many predecessors in Istanbul and in the world. It is an old story that tells us that quality of life can be achieved primarily with economic growth. It is part of the neoliberals thought. [...]The challenge in city-making is to find forms of governance able to use the generative economic aspect of the city, in a more equal way for all the citizens (Soja and Kanai, 2007), (Harvey, 2008). "It is not easy to create a truly sustainable city, but certain condition must be met: transparent governance, decent legal work, innovative infrastructures to conserve the environment, intelligent land use with integrated community development and social cohesion along with cultural diversity" (Perlman & OMeera, 2007: 185). What strategies can Istanbul adopt to eliminate the obstacles present in the KPDB to reach a truly sustainable development?