Gedikpaşa :|a neighborhood shaped by the footwear market

Abstract

This thesis focuses on a space of economic production, trade and labor. It examines Gedikpaşa, a neighborhood in the city of Istanbul’s historical peninsula and its informal footwear market, which consists of small-scale and labor intensive shoe manufacturers, wholesalers of shoes and leather and material suppliers. The study builds on a field research and twenty-four in-depth interviews conducted with a range of economic actors in Gedikpaşa’s informal market. The study draws on the literature on informal markets by highlighting the significance of social networks and trust relationships in the constitution of the market. It also seeks to contribute to urban studies on Istanbul by bringing a space of economic activity rather than residential areas to the center of analysis. The thesis argues that Gedikpaşa’s footwear market and economic actors have been transformed by the unpredictable, changing socio-economic conditions and macro political dynamics since the market’s emergence in the 1960s. This thesis seeks to demonstrate, to survive against these changing conditions and dynamics economic actors have generated defense mechanisms allowed by the flexibility of informality. In doing so, they have ensured the continuation of the Gedikpaşa footwear market until today.