Whose City Is Istanbul?

It seems that the saying "There is no other Istanbul!" has given way to the astonishment of "How many Istanbuls are there in this Istanbul?" As the city expands at a rapid pace, different Istanbuls emerge from the personal experiences of urban dwellers who differentiate based on class and wealth, ethnicity, gender, and lifestyle. We are faced with a great complexity and diversity, intertwined and superimposed, giving us a sense of incomprehensibility; and it continues to change as we try to understand it. Recognizing this, the book you hold brings together a series of articles from various disciplines around the question "Whose city is Istanbul?"
 

Are we talking about a global city that has experienced the process of capitalization with its own unique rhythm and integrated into the global economy? Or is it a giant construction site that capital has turned into an endless cycle of destruction and construction? A glittering display window, a billboard left to marketing strategies? Should we look for Istanbul in the historical city that tourists see from postcards, in themed residential sites, or in the back streets conquered by the weak, the "guerrillas" of the city? How do Filipino migrant women workers spend a Sunday, or what tactics do street vendors develop to keep their businesses going? Who knows, maybe Istanbul is not reality itself, but a collage created by the artist re-imagining and producing it each time, a superposition of many fictional cities.
 

Whose City is Istanbul? invites its readers to reflect on the city's daily reproduction within a framework that listens to its rhythm, which is shaped not only by strong and systematic efforts, institutional influences, or marketing activities, but also by individual contributions and coincidences.