Research Information System
Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) 2023 Congress, Lodz, Poland, 11 - 15 July 2023, vol.35, no.1, pp.836-837
As much as integrated planning is needed
to address acute problems of global turbulence, it is also a necessary means to
tackle more chronic and deep-rooted issues encountered in urban areas, including
those related to democracy, social justice, and inclusion. A clear depiction of
such problems—both acute and chronic—is apparent in the lack of inclusion of
LGBTQI+ minorities when addressing diversity and social well-being in urban
spaces. This study aims to clarify LGBTQI+ individuals’ planning-related
expectations and how—or whether—they are integrated in planning and to define
ways to bridge the gap between the current and expected planning agendas
regarding this specific group in Istanbul.
The socio-spatial exclusion of LGBTQI+
individuals manifests itself as exclusion on a cultural basis, exclusion from
production and sharing processes and social institutions, and due to legal
structures (Takács, 2006), mirroring the alienation these individuals also
experience within their families and hometowns. In rather conservative and
religion-driven cultures such as that often found in Turkey, queerness is
generally viewed as a deformity, sin, or crime, which serves to legitimize
violence towards LGBTQI+ individuals. Today, Turkey ranks first in Europe and
12th in the world in transgender homicides (Transgender Europe, 2023).
In major cities such as Istanbul, chronic social exclusion translates into excessively
expensive housing, loss of jobs and job opportunities, discrimination in
education and health services, and harassment on public transportation (Özer
and Erciyes, 2021). This atmosphere has led to the fear of outing, constraining
LGBTQI+ individuals from seeking help when they encounter social or
psychological harassment in daily urban life. While civic mobilization efforts,
solidarity networks, and NGOs are emerging to champion queer rights-based
claims and demands, such endeavors have thus far been very limited.
This study examines the applicability of
LGBTQI+ groups’ rights-based spatial appeals to tackle the socio-spatial
exclusion they face in Istanbul, the most preferred city in Turkey for LGBTQI+
individuals to seek to exist and actualize their identity. It thus aims to
reveal the extent of the inclusivity of planning at both the policy and
implementation levels. The empirical research has been designed in three
stages. The first stage comprises four in-depth interviews with informed
activists and a representative of SPoD, the leading LGBTQI+ association in
Istanbul, in order to uncover the planning-related expectations of the city’s
LGBTQI+ community. In addition to the main demand of gender-inclusive urban
policy-making, the interviews reveal nine specific space-based demands in two
categories: LGBTQI+-specific urban uses and the restructuring of existing
spaces as non-binary and/or genderless. The second stage consists of interviews
with informed planning, participation, and equality department officials of the
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the city’s chief governing body, in order
to evaluate current LGBTQI+-related planning policies and the practicality of
the demands in terms of current planning techniques. The third stage consists
of a critical discussion of primary research findings in the context of
inclusive planning and gender literature.
The study thus uncovers both
consistencies and disparities between the inclusive planning expectations of
the LGBTQI+ community and existing and potential planning policies/applications
in Istanbul. At the same time, it suggests ways to encourage more inclusive and
just planning practices that would eliminate the socio-spatial exclusion and
relevant externalities LGBTQI+ individuals face in their everyday lives.
References
Özer,
B. G. and Erciyes, C. (2021) ‘Toplumsal cinsiyet algısı ve ön yargı: LGBTİ+lara
yönelik tutum üzerine bir çalışma [Gender perception and prejudice: A study on attitudes
towards LGBTI+]’, Aydın Sağlık Dergisi,
7(3), pp. 255-275.
Takács,
J. (2006) Social exclusion of young
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Europe. Brussels:
ILGA Europe.
Transgender Europe
(2023) Trans murder monitoring absolute numbers
(2008-Sept 2022) [Online]. Available at: https://transrespect.org/en/map/trans-murder-monitoring/ (Accessed: 22 January
2023).