- Urban Regeneration: A Comprehensive Strategy for Creating Spaces for Innovative Economies   click here to open paper content713 kb
by    Goksin, Ayse & Muderrisoglu, Burcu | aysegoksin@superonline.com   click here to send an email to the auther(s) of this paper
Short Outline
The paper reveals how urban regeneration is used as a comprehensive strategy in Istanbul to restructure the city for creative economies and the expected earthquake. Case studies Galata Port and Zeytinburnu Urban Regeneration Project are analysed.
Abstract
In globalisation period, cities become more autonomous places as nodes of information, commodity, service and settlement. Flowing capital creates new spaces in cities and consequently destroys their social, economic and physical structures. One of the results of this process is deprivation in city centres.

In the last decades, industrial economy is giving way to creative economies. Economic competetiveness of cities is well connected with their ability to attract creative economies which often choose to locate themselves in the city centres. Thus deprived city centres need to be restructured/regenerated to house this sector.

Urban regeneration is an effective and comprehensive strategy in this restructuring period. After many successful and rather unsucessful experiences in Europe and many parts of the world, the agenda of urban regeneration is now comprehensive to equally include economic, social and environmental aspects and to ensure the equal participation of all stakeholders in the regeneration process as stated by the European Union in ESDP.

Istanbul is currently in a restructuring era. The city is perfectly aware of the need to attract and bring in the creative sector to successfully compete in the global arena of cities. Certainly, the expected earthquake should not be underestimated as the other driving force.

Among several urban regeneration/redevelopment projects carried out in the city nowadays, two of them are subject to our analysis. Galata Port is a transformation project of the port area in Karakoy to improve the quality of the international port facilities as well as to create a new centre of cultural and economic activity. Zeytinburnu Urban Regeneration Project is a pilot project which aims to regenerate inadequate housing areas in Zeytinburnu, to improve their physical, social and economic quality and strenghten the building stock for the expected earthquake.
Keywords
urban regeneration, comprehensive strategy, creative economies
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