Social cohesion; is it sufficient? Migrant communities in two disadvantaged neighborhoods in Istanbul

Abstract

Planners assume that old neighbourhoods have an atmosphere in which social relations can easily flourish. They also regard the strong social ties within a neighborhood as the guarantee for the success of housing rehabilitation. This article argues that existence of social cohesion in a neighbourhood is not necessarily an advantage in a process of modernisation and rehabilitation. In some cases the community may constitute a closed 'island' especially in places where communities have historically inherited an hierarchical character. The article is based on a recent research project dealing with urban communities in inner city areas of Istanbul, especially those containing migrant populations which seemingly have strong community ties. The historical background of the community from the Ottoman period is examined in the first part of the article. The roots of the community as a territorial administrative unit (mahalle) and its modification in contemporary migrant communities are analysed. The second part of the article presents the results of two case studies. One of the case studies is a social housing district where the migrant community is mixed and social relations with the rest of the city are relatively well developed. The other case study area is an historical district where strong social ties create an introverted character of the community in spite of its central location. The result of the study reveals that urban 'communities' in a city like Istanbul have both negative and positive aspects. Primarily it is important to assess and understand the degree of 'opennes' of the community to the outer world. In any action to be taken planners should look not only inside the community, but also at its 'outer' relations.