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The Role of Local Actors in Transforming Informal Settlements in Turkey for Sustainable Urban Development: The Ankara–Dikmen Valley Case

Abstract The question of how to create sustainable cities in developing countries is closely related to the question of how to upgrade and/or transform informal settlements in developing countries. The participation processes and the partnerships of urban actors appear as the key components in upgrading/transforming informal settlements and achieving sustainable practices in urban areas. This paper examines the relations between group of urban actors who took part in a large-scale gecekondu (urban squatter areas) transformation project in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, known as the Dikmen Valley Environmental and Housing Transformation Project. The research points to different actors involved in this transformation process, the dynamic and often conflicting relations and interests among them. Examining the environmental problems that are created due to these relations, the research highlights how environmental concerns were overridden by the political and economic concerns via the “consensus” solutions generated. It is concluded that the decision-making groups, which are the metropolitan government units, tend to dominate the participation process by establishing coalitions with other groups such as landowners and gecekondu owners. The struggles within and between the decision-making groups are also emphasized as having a major influence on generating undesired outcomes for urban sustainability.