Peaceful on the Surface, Conflictive Inside: Struggle for Reclaiming the Neighbourhood in Tehran and Istanbul

Peaceful on the surface, conflictive inside: Reclaiming the neighborhood in Tehran and Istanbul
(Case studies: Derbent, Istanbul and Ekbatan, Tehran)

Since 2002 and gain of the power by Justice and Development Party (JDP) in Turkey, the neo-liberal urban policies have gained a new momentum. Privatization and changing the laws to materialize these strategies, constructing mega projects, erecting shopping malls and five star hotels instead of historic monuments as well as building tens of gated communities are of the urban policies of the ruling party. Urban transformation plans specifically target the low income groups in the squatted neighborhoods of Istanbul. Although in the first years of rule of JDP the bulldozers of neo-liberalism were leveling the poor neighborhoods of Istanbul, now they are facing an increasing resistance.
In Tehran, the pseudo neo-liberal policies of the Government of Reconstruction has been pursued by Tehran Municipality ever since. Selling the building density, unleashing the private developers as well as destroying the historic buildings have been of these policies. Shrinking the green spaces, cutting the trees and constructing more roads have provoked a wide opposition. Despite that, Tehran Municipality has not been heeding the objections of professionals, academicians, activists and other groups of citizens. Currently and for the first time in years, a group of citizens are resisting these policies.
This article draws on two case studies in Istanbul and Tehran. The case in Istanbul is a working class neighborhood under the threat of eviction since 2012. Organized in a neighborhood cooperative the people have sued the municipality of Istanbul two times so far. In both cases the courts in Ankara have ruled in favor of the residents.
The case in Tehran (Ekbatan) is a middle class neighborhood in which the urban activists working within the neighborhood council have mobilized the people against the Municipality of Tehran selling their public land to private sector to build a shopping mall and erecting a religious center in a green public area. Recently and following a lawsuit, the Iranian Administrative Court of Justice has ruled against the construction of the mosque.
This article suggests that these struggles in cities of Istanbul and Tehran in which the direct confrontation with the system might be too costly need a special attention. Although these struggles take a ‘peaceful’ path following a ‘legal’ trail, they have a conflictive nature. In other words, they are peaceful on surface but conflictive inside.