The Identity and Cultural Dimensions of the Iconic Pedestrian Territory Using Comparative Territorialism
Comparison Between Broadway at Times Square, NYC (USA), Las Ramblas De Barcelona (Spain) and İstiklal Caddesi, Istanbul (Turkey)

Abstract

Although territory has mainly been used in a political context, this thesis revisits the term to show how it can be multifaceted in a broader geographical context, and used to understand cultural and urban issues. The key argument of the thesis is the conceptualisation of the pedestrian street as a pedestrian territory and the application of this concept to iconic pedestrian streets that are tourism and entertainment destinations with unique historic and locational value, revealing the drivers and powers used to transform such territories in the last few decades as traveling practices of globalisation, neoliberalism and tourism. Theoretically, relationality is used to investigate sociocultural patterns between the pedestrian territories of Las Ramblas, Times Square and İstiklal Avenue and methodologically, comparative territorialism is used to distinguish between human and place cultures and identities.
Both theoretical and empirical findings were used to chronologically track the transformation of these streets to a territories using three key approaches; subjectively use people’ sensations, affects, perceptions, expressions and conceptions to define the relationship between the human and non-human through territoriality; thematically draw distinctions between human culture and place culture in creating territorial culture; and analytically reveal the reasons behind this territorial identity, this experiential uniqueness. Three themes emerged; an intensive commercialisation and uneven creation of and simultaneous loss of public space, an opening up of opportunities for tolerance and freedom of expression alongside purposeful law-breaking, and the possibilities and tensions arising from the global/local identity crisis. The research reveals how the money and resources that are poured into pedestrian territories to attract symbolic attention contributes to their iconic status, but risks provoking conflicts on different levels, such as political protests, social tensions, cultural clashes and even major incidents.