Absent-present in Istanbul: The band that lost its stage, and the animal that lost its environment

Abstract

As a member of the league of neoliberal cities desperately plotting for wealth at the expense of urban commons and the city’s overall wellbeing, Istanbul continues a troubled relationship with both its inner-city quarters and its peripheries. Long before the crushing impact of Covid-19, the city was already in distress when it came to deal with the uncontrollable (e.g. climate, refugees, or locals and their right to the city). When I lived in Istanbul for my dissertation research between 2014 and 2016, stories of ruthless urban transformation expressed gentrification and displacement, while tensions rose when a more recent influx of refugees overwhelmed the urban rhythm in Istanbul.