Architecture and the Turkish city : an urban history of Istanbul since the Ottomans / Murat Gül.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-309) and index.

Machine generated contents note: 1. Late Ottoman Istanbul: early modernity, nationalism and the end of an empire -- 2. Republican Istanbul: secularisation of the old city -- 3. 1950s Istanbul: postwar dynamics and change -- 4. Istanbul between two coups: many plans, many failures -- 5. The 1980s: Istanbul encounters neo-liberalism -- 6. The 1990s: political instability, financial crises and architecture adrift -- 7. From 2000: marching towards a global city.

Architecture and urban planning have always been used by political regimes to stamp their ideologies upon cities, and this is especially the case in the modern Turkish Republic. By exploring Istanbul's modern architectural and urban history, Murat Gül highlights the dynamics of political and social change in Turkey from the late Ottoman period until today. Looking beyond pure architectural styles or the physical manifestations of Istanbul's cultural landscape, he offers critical insight into how Turkish attempts to modernise have affected both the city and its population. Charting the diverse forces evident in Istanbul's urban fabric, the book examines late Ottoman reforms, the Turkish Republic's turn westward for inspiration, Cold War alliances and the AK Party's reaffirmation of cultural ties with the Middle East and the Balkans. Telltale signs of these moments - revivalist architecture drawing on Ottoman and Seljuk styles, 1930s Art Deco, post-war International Style buildings and the proliferation of shopping malls, luxurious gated residences and high-rise towers, for example - are analysed and illustrated in extensive detail. Connecting this rich history to present-day Istanbul, whose urban development is characterised anew by intense social stratification, the book will appeal to researchers of Turkey, its architecture and urban planning.