Industrial Decentralization As A Real Estate Development Project: Gebze Case

Gebze has gained its industrial identity by the decentralization of industrial firms from Istanbul throughout the years and become one of the most important industrial centers in Turkey. But recently, transformation of industrial areas has come to the urban agenda in Gebze. In this context, the aim is to decentralize the industrial areas and to transform into qualified residential - urban facility areas. There are numerous examples of transformation of industrial areas in Istanbul and in other major cities in the literature. The area in Gebze (D-100 Road and its immediate surroundings), however, is a special case for including active manufacturing units and for the size of its scale. Such transformation will modify not only the industrial facility areas but also the social structure, production relations in the industry and employment structure in the region. Thus, the regional industry is expected to transform into high technology sectors. “The Information Valley” is about to established in addition to existing research institutions such as Gebze Technical University, GTU-TEKMER, TUBITAK-MAM and also GOSB Technopark. This area has been declared as a “special project zone” in various urban and regional planning documents but the priority of such transformation on the other hand has not been clarified yet. The purpose of this study is to discuss the effects of urban transformation offered as a real estate development project on the city of Gebze. Following the introduction chapter presenting a theoretical framework for urban transformation, the second chapter reviews planning documents and compares foresights about Gebze. Interviews with the Chamber of Commerce and other local actors are presented in the third chapter. This chapter is organized in three headings. These are effects on production relations, modification of the labor structure and social vulnerabilities. The final chapter presents evaluations and recommendations for policy makers. It is important to demonstrate positive and negative aspects of possible effects of urban transformation on Gebze and to create an environment of discussion which ensures participation of local players. It is not possible to succeed in such a large scale transformation without the contributions of local actors.