Gated communities in Istanbul: the new walls of the city

Abstract

Since the 1980s, gated communities have been the main driver of urban housing development and the real estate market in the Istanbul Metropolitan Area. While gated communities have shaped the urban macroform and urban sprawl, they have radically transformed the inner city. The aim of this paper is to investigate the patterns of gated communities in Istanbul. By evaluating 161 gated developments, the paper aims to develop a typology for them and to evaluate their impact on the urban macroform. The results offer useful lessons for other dynamic metropolitan cities.