"The formation of a "model city in the Anatolian steppes

Leapfrogging effects of spatial fix in Eskişehir, Turkey

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2263302
AutoresCansu Civelek (0000-0002-0599-234X, Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen, College of Fellows Tübingen Germany)
Año2024
Volumen36
Número2
Páginas102-115
Fecha de publicación2024-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCity & Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0893-0465 • E-ISSN: 1548-744X
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/ciso.12493
OpenAlexW4400609073
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas32

The prevalence of neoliberalism has produced varied effects on cities ranging from rapid growth to gradual disempowerment. Instead of considering neoliberal urbanization as a fixed, predetermined process, I discuss the possibility of leapfrogging in urban repositioning. Particularly, I examine Eskişehir's repositioning process in response to disempowerment, placing particular emphasis on the "spatial fix." Rather than being passive recipients of neoliberalization, local ruling elites might develop political agency to not only counter but also capitalize on disempowerment. To overcome financial and political constraints vital for the spatial fix, Eskişehir's mayor leveraged multiscalar networking strategies and symbolic revitalizations at particular historical conjunctures. Accordingly, Eskişehir's municipality, ruled by the center-left opposition party, sought to redefine the city as a stronghold of secularism with the claims of Europeanization and modernization. They introduced the "Eskişehir model" as a contrasting narrative to the ruling AKP's urban vision rooted in Islamist-nationalist agenda. These mechanisms reveal that ideological-political clashes at the national level can serve as windows of opportunity for local ruling elites to counter disempowerment. As the ethnographic research shows, these mechanisms had leapfrogging effects not only on repositioning and fostering political power but also dissembling existing inequalities, disparities, and segregation beneath the celebrated Eskişehir model

Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Turkey's Politics and Society · Urban Planning and Governance