Lessons from approaches to informal housing and non-compliant development in Turkey: An in-depth policy analysis with a historical framework

• Published in: Land use policy 2020-12, Vol.99, p.105104, Article 105104
• Main Author: Iban, Muzaffer Can
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Citizen participation; Formalisation; Housing; İmar Barışı; Informal housing; Land tenure; Land use; Non-compliant development; Planning inspection; Policy analysis; Population policy; Process management; Public participation; Risk management; Risk mitigation; Squatter housing
• ISSN: 0264-8377; 1873-5754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105104

•The approaches to informal houses / non-compliant development in Turkey are investigated using a policy analysis with a historical framework.•Key research questions and performance assessment parameters are identified after reviewing the relevant literature.•The formalisation practices have been successful in terms of securing the tenure rights to some degree.•These practises lack issues related with the structural safety, public participation and the inspection of planning regulations.•The key findings in this paper are used for policy exchange with other countries on rapid urbanisation trajectory. This article examines informal housing/non-compliant development and related formalisation practices in Turkey. An in-depth policy analysis is conducted within a historical framework to underline outcomes and policy performance of approaches and formalisation initiatives. The analysis was conducted by taking the earlier studies focusing on the formalisation practices and debates in the international literature into consideration in order to understand how the case of Turkey confirms, contradicts or adds to the existing body of the literature. Formalisation practices in Turkey, especially the recent one implemented in 2018, have been successful to secure land tenure rights to a certain extent. However, these attempts have not addressed the issues such as mitigating hazard risks, enabling public participation, managing the processes transparently and inspecting the non-compliant development put forward by the scholars. The outcomes of the policy analysis are compared with the approaches of transition and developed economies in Mediterranean Basin. As a result of these comparisons, remarkable similarities were found. The findings of the analysis can be a harbinger of the future for other countries on a rapid development path by means of a considerable policy exchange between countries with similar population and GDP.