{"id":285389,"date":"2026-04-26T05:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/?p=285389"},"modified":"2026-04-26T05:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:16:08","slug":"whose-concrete-rent-in-this-city-and-the-silent-withdrawal-of-the-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/whose-concrete-rent-in-this-city-and-the-silent-withdrawal-of-the-citizens\/","title":{"rendered":"Whose City Is This? Concrete, Rent and the Silent Retreat of the Citizen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It is hard to talk about cities in this country anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Because what we call \u201ccity\u201d has already changed its meaning.<\/p>\n<p>It used to be a city;<br \/>\nIt was a place where people lived, took root and established relationships.<\/p>\n<p>City today;<br \/>\n<strong>It has become an asset that is valued, priced, bought and sold.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And this transformation has not been quiet.<br \/>\nBut it was slow to be recognized.<\/p>\n<p>When you look at the streets today, what you see is not a city.<br \/>\nWhat you see <strong>construction site continuity.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Cranes, excavations, rising blocks, billboards...<br \/>\n\u201cSlogans such as \u201dnew living space\u201c, \u201dprestige project\u201c, \u201dinvestment opportunity\".<\/p>\n<p>But there is one thing missing in all this intensity:<br \/>\n<strong>life itself.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because what is being done is not producing a city.<br \/>\n<strong>produce square meters.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Housing is no longer a necessity.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing can be understood without understanding this critical break.<\/p>\n<p>It's home now:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>not a place to live<\/li>\n<li>not a place to live<\/li>\n<li>life is not the ground on which to build<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It's home now:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>asset held<\/li>\n<li>vehicle expected to increase in value<\/li>\n<li>financial position<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>has become.<\/p>\n<p>This change is not a small economic shift.<br \/>\nThis one, <strong>is the financialization of housing.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That is, detached from the social function of housing,<br \/>\nto become an instrument that circulates entirely within the market.<\/p>\n<p>And here a critical break occurs:<\/p>\n<p>The city is no longer for the living,<br \/>\n<strong>according to those who can access it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What does that mean?<\/p>\n<p>Two different realities emerge in the same city:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>one makes investment accounts<\/li>\n<li>the other makes rent calculations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But the two seem to live in the same space.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, this is a misconception.<\/p>\n<p>Because the city is no longer a common living space.<br \/>\nThe city is a place where different economic strata overlap. <strong>access system<\/strong>Dir.<\/p>\n<p>And the natural consequence of this system is this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the number of houses increases<\/li>\n<li>but the number of homeowners will not increase<\/li>\n<li>tenancy becomes permanent<\/li>\n<li>the city is class-differentiated<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That is why the city is not growing today.<\/p>\n<p>City <strong>it's swelling.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And it is not life that is swelling;<br \/>\n<strong>is the price mechanism.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What we see today is not urbanization.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It is the withdrawal of life from space and its replacement by price.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>LABOR, PENSIONS AND THE DETACHMENT OF HOUSING FROM ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At this point, the question is no longer \u201chow was the city founded?\u201d.<br \/>\nThe question is this:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who can live in this city?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because the picture is becoming clearer and clearer:<br \/>\nThere is a city but no access.<br \/>\nThere is a house but no ownership.<br \/>\nThere is income but not sufficiency.<\/p>\n<p>And one of the places where this rupture is most visible is the issue of pensions.<\/p>\n<p>There was a time in this country when there was a very simple equation:<\/p>\n<p><strong>work \u2192 retire \u2192 bonus + savings \u2192 buy a house<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This equation was not perfect, but it worked.<br \/>\nAt least the system didn't throw you out completely.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the same equation has collapsed.<\/p>\n<p>The pension is no longer a \u201cstart of life\u201d,<br \/>\nin most cases <strong>survival support<\/strong> not even.<\/p>\n<p>Not to open the door of a house,<br \/>\noften only enough to meet daily needs.<\/p>\n<p>It is not just a matter of inflation.<br \/>\nThis is a change in the place of housing in the economic system.<\/p>\n<p>Because today it's housing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>not a means of production<\/li>\n<li>not a means of shelter<\/li>\n<li>not a means of social security<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>is a class of financial assets.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And anything that falls into this class is naturally out of reach.<\/p>\n<p>The critical break here is this:<\/p>\n<p>Home is no longer \u201cthe thing to live in\u201d,<br \/>\n<strong>value is something to be kept.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And when something becomes a store of value:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>becomes rare<\/li>\n<li>becomes difficult to access<\/li>\n<li>price breaks from revenue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At this point, the figure of the pensioner is the most naked indicator of the system.<\/p>\n<p>Because he is retired:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>fixed income<\/li>\n<li>most vulnerable to inflation<\/li>\n<li>the most vulnerable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And if you're a pensioner:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>can't buy a house<\/li>\n<li>can't get a renovation<\/li>\n<li>struggling with rent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>this is not an individual problem,<br \/>\n<strong>is a systemic rupture.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Within this rupture, structures such as the Housing Development Administration exist, in theory, as an element of social balance.<\/p>\n<p>But in practice, unless the overall direction of the system changes, these structures produce only piecemeal effects.<\/p>\n<p>Because the problem is not the institution,<br \/>\n<strong>is the economic logic of housing.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Likewise, municipalities are not outside this structure.<\/p>\n<p>Zoning is no longer a city-building tool,<br \/>\n<strong>is a mechanism for generating value.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>density increase<\/li>\n<li>floor increase<\/li>\n<li>project expansion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These do not produce cities.<br \/>\nThese generate prices.<\/p>\n<p>On the state side, housing has been reduced to an indicator of economic growth.<\/p>\n<p>Construction growth is presented as \u201csuccess\u201d.<br \/>\nBut this success is this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>house increases<\/li>\n<li>access is reduced<\/li>\n<li>tenancy increases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So there is production but <strong>there is no sharing.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What is happening today is not a simple economic imbalance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It is the detachment of housing from its function of shelter and its transformation into a purely financial asset.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>THE REALITY OF EMPTY HOUSING, CAPITAL FLOWS AND THE CLASS DIVISION OF THE CITY<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is now necessary to clarify this point:<br \/>\nThe problem is not \u201clack of housing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Issue, <strong>is the detachment of the house from its intended use.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is a strange contradiction in cities today:<\/p>\n<p>On the one hand, rents are rising rapidly,<br \/>\non the other hand, thousands of houses with no lights at all.<\/p>\n<p>This contradiction is no coincidence.<br \/>\nThis is a natural consequence of the system.<\/p>\n<p>Because housing is no longer produced just for living.<\/p>\n<p>The house has three different functions at the same time:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>value storage<\/li>\n<li>investment instrument<\/li>\n<li>speculative asset<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When these three come together, the result is clear:<br \/>\n<strong>empty housing increases.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Because an empty house is not \u201clost\u201d.<br \/>\nInside the system that house <strong>pending value<\/strong>Dir.<\/p>\n<p>This is where the issue of capital comes into play.<\/p>\n<p>The housing market can no longer be explained by local dynamics alone.<\/p>\n<p>Because housing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>linked to the financial system<\/li>\n<li>linked to credit mechanisms<\/li>\n<li>open to investment behavior<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>into a being.<\/p>\n<p>But the critical point is this:<br \/>\nThis is not only an external issue.<\/p>\n<p>The real issue is that the system <strong>is that it has become too open to all kinds of capital flows.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This open structure:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>disconnects prices from real incomes<\/li>\n<li>makes access difficult<\/li>\n<li>magnifies urban inequality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And here the city quietly decomposes into class.<\/p>\n<p>This divergence is invisible but sharp:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>those who can access<\/li>\n<li>those who cannot access<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>They live in the same city, but not in the same city.<\/p>\n<p>For one side, the city is an investment map.<br \/>\nSurvival space for the other side.<\/p>\n<p>The result of this divergence is this:<\/p>\n<p>The city is no longer a common living space.<br \/>\nCity, <strong>is a structure divided according to levels of economic access.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And why doesn't this structure correct itself?<\/p>\n<p>Because this system is not just a mistake.<br \/>\nIt also works like a balance mechanism:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>housing generates value<\/li>\n<li>this value feeds the economic cycle<\/li>\n<li>the cycle stimulates new production<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So the system is a circle that closes in on itself.<\/p>\n<p>The most invisible but most important indicator within this circle is this:<\/p>\n<p><strong>increase in vacant housing.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Empty housing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>not a crisis<\/li>\n<li>not a side effect<\/li>\n<li>not a mistake<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>is the way the system works.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What is happening in the city today is not a housing crisis.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It is the transformation of the city from a place of use into a place of value.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>HOW TO BREAK THIS PATTERN? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Now the complaining is over.<br \/>\nBecause we need to see this clearly: This is not \u201cmarket volatility\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>This one, <strong>an established and sustained housing regime.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And such a regime will not fix itself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. NOTHING WILL BE FIXED WITHOUT CHANGING THE DEFINITION OF HOUSING<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Today's fundamental problem is not one of price, but of definition.<\/p>\n<p>Housing now:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Investment<\/li>\n<li>value retention<\/li>\n<li>financial asset<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>is seen as.<\/p>\n<p>This definition remains unchanged:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>price will not fall<\/li>\n<li>access does not increase<\/li>\n<li>rents are not stabilized<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Because investment logic demands this:<br \/>\n<strong>create scarcity, the value goes up.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The logic of housing demands this:<br \/>\n<strong>expand access, make life possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These two logics do not work together in the same system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. MUST FACE THE REALITY OF EMPTY HOUSING<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If there are houses in the city but people are becoming homeless, the problem is not production.<\/p>\n<p>The problem <strong>is a hoarding economy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That's why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>serious tax on empty housing<\/li>\n<li>additional cost for a house that is not used for a long time<\/li>\n<li>limit to speculative holding<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>no model that does not produce a solution.<\/p>\n<p>Because today the system determines the winner like this:<br \/>\n<strong>it's not the one who sits, it's the one who waits.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>3. SOCIAL HOUSING SHOULD BE A SYSTEM, NOT A PROJECT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Social housing is not a campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The Housing Development Administration may be one of the main actors in this structure, but it cannot produce solutions on its own.<\/p>\n<p>A true social housing system requires:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>integrated production into the city<\/li>\n<li>permanent rental housing model<\/li>\n<li>revenue-based access<\/li>\n<li>long-term planning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is not a production model tied to the election period,<br \/>\n<strong>a permanent housing policy.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>4. THE ROLE OF MUNICIPALITIES MUST BE REDEFINED<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Municipalities today are just that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>licensor<\/li>\n<li>regulating zoning<\/li>\n<li>project approver<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>structures.<\/p>\n<p>Whereas in the modern city, it is the municipality:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>producing housing<\/li>\n<li>managing stock for rent<\/li>\n<li>providing social balance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>has to be an actor.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise the city cannot be governed,<br \/>\n<strong>the city is only marketed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>5. THE SYSTEM CANNOT BE FIXED WITHOUT BREAKING THE LAND AND RENT ISSUE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The harshest truth is here:<\/p>\n<p>The price of housing is not the building, <strong>determines the plot.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That's why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>without controlling land speculation<\/li>\n<li>without transparency in planning<\/li>\n<li>without establishing a public land policy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>no solution can be permanent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>IT'S NOT A CRISIS, IT'S A MODEL<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is what happened today:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>not unplanned<\/li>\n<li>not temporary imbalance<\/li>\n<li>not a technical error<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>is the result of an economic model.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And the name of this model is clear:<\/p>\n<p><strong>The transformation of housing from shelter into a financial asset.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This country can either rebuild housing <strong>right<\/strong> as the \"most important<\/p>\n<p>Or cities can be completely <strong>investment showcase<\/strong>,<br \/>\nand the people will be the ones left out of that showcase.<\/p>\n<p>And these two cannot live together in the same city.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Concrete Economy Established, Not City<\/p>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":285391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[289],"class_list":["post-285389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-yazarlar","tag-manset"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285389"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285392,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285389\/revisions\/285392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halkweb.com.tr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}