Revitalizing Yeldegirmeni Neighborhood by Provoking Local Initiative

Background Information

“Yeldegirmeni Revitalization Project” is an attempt to revitalize declined urban texture via local network, public participation and solidarity. In the name of a socially sustainable city, the project aims to protect local values.

Istanbul, as a fast growing metropolis, has been going through a profit-oriented urban transformation process. In order to gain maximum profit, social consequences of these large urban interventions are often ignored. As a result the social texture of the city is damaged.

The Yeldegirmeni Neighborhood potentially faces such social destruction. The neighborhood is located at the urban center of Asian—Istanbul. Although, it has a remarkable historical identity and a unique heritage, it went through a declining period during the 80s. The neighborhood nestles a population of 16,000 residents with a strong sense of belonging.

With low real estate values compared to its surrounding and master development plans around the area, Yeldegirmeni is potentially a target for rapid gentrification. As a response to this foreseen danger, “Yeldegirmeni Revitalization Project” aims to improve life and build the quality of the urban space in Yeldegirmeni without destroying the current social dynamics of the neighborhood. Therefore instead of “revitalizing” the neighborhood, the project aims to reveal its potential to revitalize itself, via public participation, re-structuring of the local network, creation of public spaces and mobilization of local actors.

The leading actors of the initiative are Kadikoy Municipality and the Cekul Foundation. The municipality sustains and conducts the initiative with managerial, financial and technical resources. Cekul Foundation — a nongovernmental institution with long experience in urban conservation — plays a role in strategic decision making, supervising the revitalization process and measuring the outcomes. Supporting parties from the private sector such as “Marshall”, contribute to the process by maintaining financial resources and setting public relations. The essential role in the organization is played by the local residents. A local committee manages and sustains the revitalization process. Public participation is provided in every step of the project. Other non-governmental organizations such as “Our Streets Foundation”, “IU photography club”, “Earth Foundation”, “Yeldegirmeni Volunteers”, “Yeldegirmeni Artists Association” contribute to the initiative by taking the responsibilities of specific tasks.

Innovation for the Initiative

“Yeldegirmeni Revitalization Project” is innovative as an attempt to make physical changes by only using social interventions, which therefore can be considered as revolutionary.

Different concepts within the project have been practiced in the past, but it is the first time where all these different experiences are brought together within an integrated urban strategy.

The most important innovation is introduced by the general strategy. Instead of a direct intervention of the government or private sector, the project aims to orient the local community to take action in order to intervene in their own neighborhood.

For example, one of the sub-targets of the revitalization is the restoration of historical residential buildings in the neighborhood. In the past, it has been experienced that  Urban conservation was handled as a construction project, by using government or private funds, resulting in rapid destructive social gentrification. Therefore, in the “Yeldegirmeni Revitalization Project” restorations are handled as a process rather than a construction. Owners of the houses with historical value are informed about national and international funds. Technical and managerial support is given via publications and guiding programs.

Process based strategy is applied in every sub-target of the revitalization. This process based strategy can be considered much slower than a direct intervention. On the other hand it has more sustainable results in the long term and leads to more dynamic design possibilities.

Another innovation integrated within the project is the administrative schema. A group of volunteers work actively in the community center founded at the hearth of Yeldegirmeni. This community center offers social services and functions as a local management center where participation gatherings and charities are held by a local committee. As a result, a dynamic local participation is sustained in every level of the project, from design to practice.

High pressure of the real estate market is the biggest obstacle in the project. On the other hand, local solidarity and the participatory models counterpoise the market speculations. The process based strategy also has a dynamic nature, where reactions to larger scale changes are given quickly.

Outcomes and Assessments

In the “Yeldegirmeni Revitalization Project” it is desired to protect disadvantaged classes’ right to access the city center. Transforming such neighborhoods with their current inhabitants in a harmonious way is one of the keys for a socially and economically sustainable city.

As a revitalization model the project suggests a community based strategy. Those who do not have the capacity of competition in a global network are unified together in order to function as a compatible community. This involves the restructuring of local focal points within a larger network. Although the primarily desired changes in the project are local for the Yeldegirmeni neighborhood, they can also be considered regional for the whole metropolitan area of Istanbul, as a methodological model.

With the “Yeldegirmeni Revitalization Project”, a self-sustained improvement in urban quality of life is desired. At the economical level, that would be the improvement in the competitive capacity of small, family run, local businesses and shops. They are highly adoptable to macro-economic changes and stabilize the local economy.

At the environmental level, improvement in quality of public spaces is desired. Recognized and protected public spaces create the possibility of social interaction and intensify local identity. Improvement in general image, infrastructure and conservation of historical buildings also affect physical quality of life with in the neighborhood. Local residents becoming their own cummunity’s architects helps promote above work, boosting local sustainable development

At the social level, all of these aspects serve as tools to strengthen local sense of belonging. It is desired that the locals would re-claim the neighborhood and sustain it.

The results in project are measured by economic and social indicators. Economic indicators are the increase in income tax paid by the shop owners which indicates the competitive power of small businesses. The pace of increase in the real estate prices is also measured. A stable and steady increase is desired. The main Social indicator is the “sense of belonging to the place” and general happiness. The project group lives and works on the field, so participant observation is used. The surveys and number of local volunteers also indicate increase in sense of belonging.

Benefits to Other Cities

Today we see global space does not totally break down “geographical limit”, but it creates rather its own localities. On the contrary to all unipolar approaches, a new heterogeneous society is emerging. Therefore an up-to-bottom transformation process, neglecting this new locality cannot be considered “sustainable”.

“Yeldegirmeni Revitalization Project” is an innovative attempt in this sense. The transformation is handled as a grassroots movement. The ultimate goal is triggering the “change” rather than enforcing it. The most remarkable tool used in this matter is the production of social space. Re-connecting the link between the “place” and the “individual” is a crucial step of bottom-to-up transformation. Within the project this goal is achieved via creation of public spaces and interaction possibilities.

This tool is used at every step of the project. On the physical level, this includes creating streets that are actively used as public spaces by restricting the car traffic, building large sidewalks, cleaning the building facades, re-functioning the residual parcels as public grounds. On the social level, the tool is creating common ground for social cohesion. Different parts of the local society are brought together around common interests through events, gatherings, education programs, hobby clubs and social services.

A specific example to this within the revitalization is the “urban gardens project”.

The “urban gardens” project’s aim is to re-function residual areas behind the apartment blocks as green public spaces. A couple of parcels in every urban block have been cleaned. With the collaboration of “Yeryuzu Foundation” residents of the relevant buildings are trained in gardening and urban agriculture. They are planted with eatable plants through this training by the residents. Within three months some residents have shown more interest in the gardening activity and founded the “Yeldegirmeni Gardeners Club”.

The gardens became spaces for interaction in a short notice of time. People within the buildings started to use their garden and got to know each other. The adjacent buildings with residual spaces also have shown interest to the gardening idea after seeing their neighbors’. The number of the gardens started to increase as the number of people socializing via gardening. The gardeners club is becoming a social activity especially for the elderly. The club soon will have the capacity to sustain the project by itself and maintain all the green spaces in Yeldegirmeni.

At the end, a grassroots movement was started by only cleaning 20 gardens and training the residents owning the buildings/flats. The result is more social cohesion, more green space, more environmental sustainability, more security and a healthier urban space.