BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Istanbul and the Grassroots: urban transformation and urban social
  movements - Martin Schwegmann\, Humboldt University Berlin
DTSTART:20131119T173000Z
DTEND:20131119T190000Z
UID:TALK47619@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:29816
DESCRIPTION:A discussion of Istanbul and the Grassroots has to begin and e
 nd with the protests around Gezi Park. What began as peaceful protest agai
 nst the logging of trees in Gezi Park has become an existential fight for 
 basic democratic and citizens rights in Turkey\, based on a wide coalition
  of organizations and citizens. What at first seemed to be an uprising aga
 inst the demolition of a park turned into widespread urban resistance in I
 stanbul's various neighbourhoods and from there to the cities in Turkey. \
 n\nGezi Park is the culmination point of an ever increasing self-righteous
  politics of the AKP and its Prime Minister. Since 2002\, urban transforma
 tion politics in Istanbul and most other Turkish cities have aimed to syst
 ematically synchronize all land and real estate markets\, making it possib
 le for national and international capital to invest in land and real estat
 e. This was made possible by a broad set of measures including new legisla
 tion\, the foundation of new institutions directly linked to the prime min
 ister holding enormous powers\, as well as extensive and dubious cooperati
 on between public and private partners. The recent changes installed by pr
 operty speculators and the state planners include gentrification and vast 
 displacements of people as well as the erasure of spaces of collective mem
 ory.\n\nThe talk will focus on newly organized civil society actors in Ist
 anbul reacting to current trends in urban development. In this climate loc
 al and national active civil society groups emerge and struggle to find a 
 common voice against the unjust developments.
LOCATION:Room SG1 of the Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, CB39DT\, 
 Cambridge
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR