In the context of reading the urban transformations that Lebanon is witnessing as cross-border transformations generated by capitalist governments adopting neoliberal policies, and aiming to reshape neighborhoods and land into a commodity in the real estate market, it is useful to study what is happening today in our region as a whole. In this sense, we aim to uncover how tools used by capitalism in this context, even if sounding different, are the same. In this interview, the Center for Spatial Justice- Mekanda Adalet Dernegi- in Istanbul presents its reading of what is happening in the Turkish capital, away from the state’s analysis, displaying the Turkish model as a success story. This is actually a story of a city built on the lives of millions of downtrodden victims of displacement and exclusion.
Read the Arabic article here.