As of 2007, there is no research evaluating the distribution of crime in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul. However, Istanbul includes areas with diverse characteristics and accommodates people from ...many different origins within the country. The purpose of this piece, therefore, is to inform readers about patterns of crime in a city that has been a major focal point of urban migration since the 1950s. While there were a total of 18 districts in Istanbul before 1987, the number increased to 32 thereafter as a result of the population increase in the city's smaller settlement areas. In the first stage of the study, the relationship between the distribution of crime and the physical and social structures observed in these 32 districts is evaluated. Patterns between the profile of each district and its respective crime rate are then established. Most of data were taken from the most recent census year, 2000, to serve a more detailed analysis. It is concluded that crime rates were higher in the districts that were older and closer to the center and lower in new districts that were composed mostly of squatter areas and were established as a result of migration from rural areas of Istanbul.
In recent studies on urban safety, close relationships between physical and demographic characteristics have been found in crime levels in cities. In many countries social, political and economic ...turmoil have been the main reasons for the increase in urban crime and violence in the last 50 years. In physically deprived environments, the most important factors that increase urban crime are socially isolated communities, economic discrimination and lack of equality in political citizenship rights. In developing countries, it is difficult to obtain data about crime and safety. For this reason, there are very few studies on crime compared to developed countries. In the research in this paper, the similarities and differences of crime ratios against property and persons in Istanbul are compared with those in other countries. For this purpose, the spatial distribution of crimes committed were analysed on a comparative basis between 1998-2002 in 32 districts displaying different characteristics in terms of distance to the centre, use of land, value of land, physical and demographic features. The research revealed that the crime rates in Istanbul against property and persons were in parallel with developed countries. The districts which have mixed use (residential and commercial, residential and industrial), high population increase, high number of households, high density and high land value, property and personal crime levels are high; when date of becoming a district is recent and the size of the district is large, property and personal crime levels are low.
The mapping of crime and delinquency has been around for many years and the idea that delinquency is caused by environmental factors has long been debated. A significant characteristic of research on ...criminality is the use of charts and maps to show spatial distributions of delinquency and crime. Istanbul has been a strategically important location, physically and regionally, in every period. Istanbul’s most prominent characteristics are its geographical location, unique natural beauties, and wealth of cultural heritage. Istanbul has experienced increasingly high crime rates. This study demonstrates major differences between the characteristics of high and lower-crime neighbor-hoods in Istanbul. The distribution of crime in Istanbul shows that between 2000-2005, crime is concentrated in the city centre. This research is based on the differences in physical, demographical and economical characteristics of Istanbul’s districts, which show a rise of ratios in crime, especially in the city center like Beyoglu and Eminonu districts. In the Beyoglu central district which is economically better developed and with mixed land usage, differentiation of day-night population will be analyzed in order to determine how they could affect increase in crime. The crime survey is conducted in the Beyoglu district between 2006 and 2008. The questionnaire results provide an insight into the mapping of crime in Beyoglu streets. The purpose of the study with this questionnaire is also to analyse fear of crime in the Beyoglu streets. At the end of the research, crime prevention strategies are going to be improved and new suggestions will be presented for the streets where crime rates are high.
Due to migration and rapidly increasing urban population settlement in urban land, lacking any planning or infrastructure, in addition to the destruction of the 17th August 1999 earthquake, it is ...necessary to examine uncertainty of housing demand and supply in Istanbul. After the 17th August earthquake, Istanbul has been adversely affected economically and socially. Significant differentiation in urban housing demand and supply has been observed. In the paper, this differentiation will be scrutinized for the 1995-2005 period before the earthquake, and the period after the earthquake until present. The distribution of real estate agencies will be examined with the help of GIS and the changes in the real estate market with questionnaires. The purpose of the research is to analyse; Housing production in the housing market in Istanbul; Differentiation of housing demand and supply; Distribution of real estate agencies; Differentiation of housing value and land value in neighbourhoods before and after the earthquake. The study provides an insight into the housing and real estate market in Istanbul, results and proposals of which will be presented.
PDF
