The policy mobility of energy efficiency and green gentrification in the urban renewal of Istanbul

Abstract

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), SDG number 11 specifically, has promoted urban sustainability and energy efficiency, as one of the highest potential for cities to tackle with the climate change mitigation globally. Using the concept of ‘green gentrification’ and ‘policy mobility’, this thesis will examine and further investigate the ongoing Gaziosmanpasa Urban Renewal Project in İstanbul. The GOP district is particularly interesting for this research because the district has adopted a ‘sustainable planning’ vision to create sustainable and energy efficient neighbourhoods alongside its on-going seismic-risk driven urban renewal. In Turkey, energy efficiency policy and practices started during the European Union accession process in early 2010s, and the local regime and businesses actors in Istanbul adapted and reinvented themselves surrounding the idea of ‘energy efficiency’ in the seismic-risk driven urban renewal in the city. Hence, the GOP district has also become an attractive venue for “green” businesses interested in energy certification schemes, such as LEED and BREAM, facilitated by the regulatory schemes known as the 2008 Energy Efficiency Law. Through qualitative data gathered from literature reviews and the data collected through interviews with energy efficiency businesses, municipality officers and social entrepreneurs in Istanbul, the case shows how sustainability planning with highenergy efficiency targets may lead to green gentrification.