From Industry to Culture: Regeneration of Golden Horn as a “Cultural Valley”

Abstract

The image shifts from industrial identity to cultural identity since 1980s in Golden Horn, one of Istanbul’s former industrial areas, encompassed cultural policies and urban regeneration processes in the area. This study discusses the positions of public and private sector investments in the region during the process of creating "The Golden Horn Cultural Valley" and reveals the policies that managed this regeneration. The research uses a multi-dimensional method considering both qualitative and quantitative data throughout economics, politics/urban cultural policies, society, culture and space. With respect to the projects, the authors highlight three main outcomes: (1) processes vary according to the actors, (2) lack of integrated vision and (3) disconnected cultural visibility.