Gated communities and sign value: Logics of segregation in the case of Ankara

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mimarlık Fakültesi, Şehir ve Bölge Planlama Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2013

Öğrenci: HANDAN KARAKAŞ

Danışman: CEMİLE NİL UZUN

Özet:

This study brings out an analytical framework to the issue of gated communities in relation with the consumer culture theories in Turkey. There has been a radical shift from Fordist to post-Fordist economy since the mid-1970s, which finally ends up with the change in consumption patterns of people. People turned into desiring consumers, consuming not for their necessities but for what objects signify. As a part of that development, gated communities became the object of consumer culture which is produced and sold as a commodity of architecture. Especially the advertisement sector helped the commodification of gated communities through ever-repeating images and words. This research analyzes the commodification and marketing processes of gated communities in order to see the relation between discourse of advertisements on gated communities and gated communities’ segregationist tendencies. To this end, the formation of gated communities around the world and in Turkey is explained. Then the commodification of gated communities within the framework of consumer culture theories is discussed. Finally, the theoretical arguments are presented by incorporating the findings of the case study carried out in Ankara. In other words, the study will highlight whether or not the language employed in the marketing materials of gated communities creates a segregationist language.