All shades of green: The case of bomonti in Urban Istanbul

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the impact of spatial defi nitions - as concepts and their implementations - on social and cultural breakdowns/contexts by examining the new genre of green architecture that represents diverse determinations of sustainability. The risk of misinterpretations and reproductions of social and spatial constructions, as well as the terms fashioning the new forms of discriminations justifying destructions, have rarely been given place in philosophical debates. In profound philosophical evaluations, the uses of urban and natural heritage, the terms redefi ning sustainability, such as 'green', 'smart' and 'eco', are thought to give clues about the political aspects of urban developments. The framework will be based on a critical discussion of these new 'futuristic' terminologies, by re-locating and re-defi ning them outside the customised power relationships exemplifying the developments in one of the oldest industrial neighbourhoods, Bomonti in the city of Istanbul as a case study. © 2013 WIT Press.