Zekeriyakoy Under Rental Impact: A Research on Plan, Investment and User Preferences at the Periphery

Abstract

As the basic sector of the period, rent theories and research findings that have emerged in the field of economics have an important place in urban planning today. However, it has been observed that current studies consist mainly of theoretical debates and that there are insufficient case studies available. In this article, the phenomenon of rent, factors that create rent and the actors involved are discussed in the context of Zekeriyakoy, a peripheric area preferred by Istanbul's upper income group where urbanization pressure is high. The indicators of rent used in this study are based on the rent elements emphasized by theoretical studies, including population growth, settlement area growth, infrastructure development, increase in the number of streets, changing housing typology and qualities, increase in land and residential square meter values and development of transportation infrastructure. Resident surveys, interviews with representatives of institutions and organizations, and analysis of observations in the field were the main sources. The findings indicate that Zekeriyakoy, originally a settlement of seventy households in the mid-1980s, has grown largely horizontally over a few decades, and the presence of a rent effect in this growth. The findings stress private sector investments, particularly luxury housing projects. Another phenomenon revealing the rent element in Zekeriyakoy is the tendency to move to earthquake-safe areas in the north, following the 1999 Marmara earthquake. This trend has become an attractive element, especially for the upper income group, regarding the housing development projects, the nature of the area, its proximity to the city center and transportation projects and investments. Therefore, the change in housing types and properties relative to the target audience is among the reasons for the rent. When value increases in Zekeriyakoy are evaluated in the context of location, relative to the city center, an example of "difference rent" can be shown. The area demonstrates the characteristics of the "monopoly rent", in creating surplus value for the investors of the parcels in the context of current market values. Those value increases have not appeared to create an intention to sell or rent property amongst the existing inhabitants of the neighborhood.