Until a recent urban renewal project that forced most residents out, the neighborhood of Tarlaba\u015f\u0131 was home to a diverse array of Istanbul\u2019s minority populations.<\/p>\n
In the early 20th century, Tarlaba\u015f\u0131\u2019s winding streets and colorful buildings were home to many of the city\u2019s Greek residents. After violence against the Greek population their mass emigration from Turkey, Roma and Kurdish families moved in. But today, a municipal plan to turn the area into a wealthier, more mainstream neighborhood has forced out most families \u2014 and is making life miserable for the residents who refuse to leave, reports independent media agency Bianet.<\/p>\n
Forced to collect rainwater for drinking<\/p>\n
The Ber family profiled by three Bianet reporters are, like many modern residents of the neighborhood, recent immigrants to Istanbul from Turkey\u2019s eastern regions.<\/p>\n
Their house is certified as cultural heritage by the Istanbul municipality. But because it stands in the way of the urban renewal plans, they were offered approximately 35,000 Euros two years ago to leave and move to a different part of the city. For a family of ten, it will be impossible to find a suitable house for that amount on today\u2019s market, so they refused the offer and stayed.<\/p>\n
Other Tarlaba\u015f\u0131 residents who demanded more money for their houses were personally threatened, so most of them caved in, took the money, and left, says Ali Ber.<\/p>\n
The city is already sending the Bers threatening messages. Recently, their water was cut, forcing the family to collect rainwater for drinking. When Ali Ber asked the municipality why, he was simply informed that the family \u201ccould have already been evicted.\u201d<\/p>\n
More information about the ongoing gentrification of Tarlaba\u015f\u0131 can be found at Tarlaba\u015f\u0131 Istanbul.<\/p>\n
A recurring problem<\/p>\n
\u201cUrban renewal\u201d projects in Istanbul rarely renew their target areas.<\/p>\n
The neighborhood of Sulukule was also predominantly inhabited by Roma until the city evicted most residents to make way for planned gentrification. By the time an Istanbul court annulled the project last year, saying it violated the area\u2019s heritage protections and the residents\u2019 rights, most houses had already been destroyed and hundreds of new villas were under construction.<\/p>\n
In the city\u2019s main square, Taksim, a more high-profile controversial renovation has begun. The Taksim Project, as it\u2019s known, will replace the square\u2019s adjacent park with a reproduction of old military barracks and a shopping mall, and will isolate the square from surrounding neighborhoods by transforming streets into highways.<\/p>\n
Construction on the Taksim Project is now underway, despite the protests of many urban planners, environmentalists, and citizens, none of whom were consulted on the project.<\/p>\n
via Istanbul Municipality Forces Neighborhood To Make Way For Planned Gentrification | Green Prophet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Until a recent urban renewal project that forced most residents out, the neighborhood of Tarlaba\u015f\u0131 was home to a diverse array of Istanbul\u2019s minority populations. In the early 20th century, Tarlaba\u015f\u0131\u2019s winding streets and colorful buildings were home to many of the city\u2019s Greek residents. After violence against the Greek population their mass emigration from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2939],"tags":[102],"class_list":["post-66309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultureart","tag-istanbul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}