Istanbul, a city, colonized in the seventh century BC, is still one of the cultural centers of the country and the world (Fisher-Onar, Pearce, & Keyman, 2018). Even though Istanbul lost its status as a capital, the level of its urban development remains significant.
Istanbul was the capital of three great empires, and although Ankara took this status in 1923, Istanbul is still the country’s financial and cultural center (Gül). Istanbul is the most populated city, with its current population almost three times more than the population of Ankara (United Nations, 2018a). However, the population growth rate in the capital and small towns is slightly higher than in Istanbul (United Nations, 2018b).
This trend is explained both by the transfer of the state’s capital and the fact that a thousand people for Ankara and Istanbul have a different percentage ratio. Nevertheless, although there are no sharp changes in growth since the 2000s, Istanbul has been growing by 2 million people every five years because of the increasing global population and due to hosting a huge number of refugees (Weissman, 2019). According to Shaheen and Saracoglu (2017), the country’s birth rate has declined significantly, but at the same time, the number of refugees’ children has increased. Therefore, such a situation may soon lead to a decrease in part of the working population, while the total number of inhabitants will only grow, which is a negative and unsustainable trend.
Istanbul is a place that combines the features of a modern city and a historical past. The rapid pace of its development allows it to appear as a global city since Istanbul has already passed through a worldwide exchange more than once (Clark, 2016). However, the events of recent years have demonstrated that globalization at this stage brings a lot of negative aspects to the town, and it cannot yet be called genuinely global.
The beneficial geographical location of Istanbul, as well as the neoliberal politics, allow it to claim the role of a global city. Since the early 2000s, the growth and development of the town have been particularly rapid, hence global corporations ventured in conducting their business there. The new airport in Istanbul is the largest and most developed in the world (McKernan, 2019). In addition, the unification of European and Arab culture makes it especially attractive for tourists (Cumming, 2018).
However, rallies against urbanization in 2013, as well as an attempted military coup in 2016, significantly slowed the development of the town (“Turkey protest,” 2017). Istanbul can overcome these obstacles and again take the path of global city development by applying the right approaches to urban modeling approaches as well as knowledge-based urban development (Akin, Sunar & Berberoğlu, 2015; Yigitcanlar & Bulu, 2015). Thus, although Istanbul has all the prerequisites of becoming a global city, globalization at this stage brings it new difficulties. However, the effects of globalization can be turned into benefits for Istanbul through the right methods of urban development.
References
Akin, A., Sunar, F., & Berberoğlu, S. (2015). Urban change analysis and future growth of Istanbul. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 187(8), 506. Web.
Clark, G. (2016). How cities took over the world: A history of globalisation spanning 4,000 years. The Guardian.
Cumming, E. (2018). Back from the brink: New breath for tourism in Istanbul. The Guardian.
McKernan, B. (2019). Turkish Airlines is switching to a new Istanbul airport – all in 45 hours. The Guardian.
Turkey protest: Istanbul rally concludes anti-Erdogan march. (2017). BBC.
Yigitcanlar, T., & Bulu, M. (2015). Dubaization of Istanbul: Insights from the knowledge-based urban development journey of an emerging local economy. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 47(1), 89-107.
Fisher-Onar, N., Pearce, S. C., & Keyman, E. F. (2018). Istanbul: Living with difference in a global city. New Brunswick (N.J.): Rutgers University Press.
Gül, M. (2017). Architecture and the Turkish city: An urban history of Istanbul since the Ottomans. London: I. B. Tauris.
Shaheen, K., & Saracoglu, G. (2017). Turkey’s waning fertility threatens Erdoğan’s vision of strength. The Guardian.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018a). World urbanization prospects: The 2018 revision. Annual population of urban agglomerations with 300,000 or more in 2018 (thousands).Web.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018b). World urbanization prospects: The 2018 revision. Average annual rate of change of urban aggl. with 300,000 or more in 2018 (per cent). Web.
Weissman, D. (2019). After the end: Life in post-globalization Istanbul. Palladium.