EXPLORING URBAN RESILIENCE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PLAN CHANGES: THE CASE OF ISTANBUL

Abstract

Globalization and neo-liberal policies led to unanticipated destructive changes in the urban space, thus increasing complexity and uncertainty in cities. In any city, it is critical to eliminate the negative externalities of complexity and uncertainty, and to maintain development and consistency despite the changing conditions. In this context, urban resilience, which is defined as a city’s ability to adopt to change and to be more flexible in the event of unexpected and unforeseeable circumstances, has gained further importance. Achieving flexibility for cities and plans is rather easier in project-led planning systems that are built on the ability to develop effective plans and to manage externalities in the face of uncertainties stemming from rapid changes. In plan-led systems, however, certainty is the top priority by providing consistency and objectivity; and thus, ensuring flexibility is more difficult and complex. In plan-led systems, partial interventions such as plan amendments are utilized to achieve flexibility in plans. This article explores the impact of plan amendments on urban resilience in Turkey’s plan-led planning system, with a particular focus on Istanbul where the pressure of neo-liberalism is intensely felt. The findings of the study reveal that plan amendments, which are a consequence of neo-liberal strains, intensify in primary and secondary districts, and the external costs rising from plan amendments lead to decreased resilience.