Peer-reviewed articles by Zeynep Sila Akinci
Geoforum, 2020
The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, a... more The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, and practice of development. Since the 1980s, many scholars have employed this critical framework to unearth the overlooked power relations created and altered by the concept of development in general, and development projects in particular. This article contributes to this debate by advancing and enriching this perspective. Analyzing a broad number of official sources supporting Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) and drawing theoretically on the concept of power of Michel Foucault and absences of Boaventura de Sousa Santos, we argue that GAP is part of a state strategy to produce southeastern Turkey by design and the representation of lack. We develop a framework that helps us understand the narratives on the project as a design of absences, a design-power that works as a particular form of power-knowledge. In the terrain of absences, design has become the way to exercise power together with the observation of geography and population. The absences created by the development discourse become a key-feature of design-power. In this sense, GAP is design-power to produce a new region and new subjectivities and works as a particular form of power-knowledge.
BMC Geriatrics
Background Walking is an essential activity for everyone and for older adults in particular, give... more Background Walking is an essential activity for everyone and for older adults in particular, given that it is the most accessible form of physical activity and one of the healthiest transportation modes. Understanding how walkability (the potential of the environment to enable and/or encourage walking) has been objectively measured and analyzed for older adults is critical to create more inclusive, healthy, and sustainable environments and to promote healthy aging. Despite the numerous reviews on physical activity among older adults and its relationship with the built environment, the literature still lacks comparison reviews focusing specifically on objective operationalizations of walkability for older adults vs. the general population. Methods We conducted a systematic review of 146 empirical studies that measured walkability objectively in relation to walking-related outcomes. We compared studies focused on older adults (n = 24) and the general population (n = 122). Content anal...
Journal of Transport Geography, Dec 26, 2021
Immobility and lack of physical activity (PA) are global problems among seniors (≥65 years old). ... more Immobility and lack of physical activity (PA) are global problems among seniors (≥65 years old). While being active is preferable to not doing physical activity, not leaving the house for long periods might increase mortality risk, lead to social isolation, depression, cognitive impairment, besides other health problems. However, going out of home, even to spend rest time outdoors could improve mental health, increase vitamin D intake, or provide opportunities in involvement in various experiences such as psychosocial, emotional, cultural, therapeutic, leisure or even PA, since resting forms an essential part of PA for some seniors. Previous studies show that the characteristics of individuals as well as the physical environment and how seniors perceive it affect their outdoor behavior. Aiming to contribute to the literature which mostly focuses on the relationship between characteristics of the physical environment and seniors' PA, this study explores how a specific urban characteristic: urban vitality impacts seniors' outdoor rest while considering age and gender. To do so we used GPS-tracking and accelerometer data belonging to 253 seniors residing in Barcelona, in combination with a GIS-based urban vitality index and a questionnaire for sociodemographic data and neighborhood perceptions. Results show that seniors in Barcelona tend to rest rather than being active in more vital areas. However, results differ among age and gender groups. The probability of using vital areas for outdoor rest was especially higher among older senior men (≥75 years old). This study furthers our understanding of seniors' outdoor behavior, its relationship with the built environment and how this relationship varies among individual characteristics. Results might provide valuable insights for the design of vital urban spaces that can have positive contributions to seniors' lives while strengthening the community life by promoting social inclusion of all age and gender groups in urban life.
This study explores how older adults' time out-of-home and physical activity (PA) are associated ... more This study explores how older adults' time out-of-home and physical activity (PA) are associated with the provision of urban open spaces (green spaces, plazas, and boulevards) and microelements (street trees and benches) in their neighborhoods. The authors used data from 103 residents in Barcelona and matched it to official geospatial data. The authors adjusted a set of mixedeffects linear regressions, both for the entire sample and also stratified by age and gender. For the entire sample, the percentage of green spaces showed a positive association with neighborhood time out-of-home and PA, while participants' PA also showed a positive association with the presence of benches. Outdoor time among older women was not associated with any of the measured exposures. For men, the provision of green spaces and benches was positively associated with time out-of-home and PA. These results could inform the design of urban spaces that aim to encourage outdoor activity among older adults.
Geoforum, 2020
The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, a... more The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, and practice of development. Since the 1980s, many scholars have employed this critical framework to unearth the overlooked power relations created and altered by the concept of development in general, and development projects in particular. This article contributes to this debate by advancing and enriching this perspective. Analyzing a broad number of official sources supporting Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) and drawing theoretically on the concept of power of Michel Foucault and absences of Boaventura de Sousa Santos, we argue that GAP is part of a state strategy to produce southeastern Turkey by design and the representation of lack. We develop a framework that helps us understand the narratives on the project as a design of absences, a design-power that works as a particular form of power-knowledge. In the terrain of absences, design has become the way to exercise power together with the observation of geography and population. The absences created by the development discourse become a key-feature of design-power. In this sense, GAP is design-power to produce a new region and new subjectivities and works as a particular form of power-knowledge.
Journal of Aging and Physical Activity
This study explores how older adults’ time out-of-home and physical activity (PA) are associated ... more This study explores how older adults’ time out-of-home and physical activity (PA) are associated with the provision of urban open spaces (green spaces, plazas, and boulevards) and microelements (street trees and benches) in their neighborhoods. The authors used data from 103 residents in Barcelona and matched it to official geospatial data. The authors adjusted a set of mixed-effects linear regressions, both for the entire sample and also stratified by age and gender. For the entire sample, the percentage of green spaces showed a positive association with neighborhood time out-of-home and PA, while participants’ PA also showed a positive association with the presence of benches. Outdoor time among older women was not associated with any of the measured exposures. For men, the provision of green spaces and benches was positively associated with time out-of-home and PA. These results could inform the design of urban spaces that aim to encourage outdoor activity among older adults.
Geoforum, 2020
The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, a... more The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, and practice of development. Since the 1980s, many scholars have employed this critical framework to unearth the overlooked power relations created and altered by the concept of development in general, and development projects in particular. This article contributes to this debate by advancing and enriching this perspective. Analyzing a broad number of official sources supporting Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) and drawing theoretically on the concept of power of Michel Foucault and absences of Boaventura de Sousa Santos, we argue that GAP is part of a state strategy to produce southeastern Turkey by design and the representation of lack. We develop a framework that helps us understand the narratives on the project as a design of absences, a design-power that works as a particular form of power-knowledge. In the terrain of absences, design has become the way to exercise power together with the observation of geography and population. The absences created by the development discourse become a key-feature of design-power. In this sense, GAP is design-power to produce a new region and new subjectivities and works as a particular form of power-knowledge.
Book chapters by Zeynep Sila Akinci
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth, 2021
The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) was launched as a massive pack... more The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) was launched as a massive package of water and land resources development project in 1977. Over time, the project was redefined as a multisectoral, integrated, and sustainable regional and human development project. This chapter seeks to make a critical appraisal of GAP on the basis of its formal objectives. To this end, the chapter explores GAP-induced changes and challenges specifically in the (i) infrastructural and economic and (ii) sociocultural dimensions of the project. Our main conclusion is that the state’s claim about the project’s success is not supported by the state’s own data.
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth, 2021
Iran, Iraq and Turkey, and to a lesser extent Syria, are often said to be the water-rich exceptio... more Iran, Iraq and Turkey, and to a lesser extent Syria, are often said to be the water-rich exceptions in a broad, water-deficient northern Africa and Middle East region (Siddiqi and Anadon 2011: 13). Groundwater levels and water availability are falling in the wider Middle East region generally, and the future prospects are dim. According to NASA, the Levant region, comprising Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey, is experiencing its worst drought for nine centuries. 1 Groundwater levels are decreasing as a result of a higher rate of extraction than recharging, while the quality of the water is at also risk due to environmental pollution (Tropp 2006). The river from which Jordan took its country name is beginning to run dry (Zurayk 2014). Iran, Iraq and Turkey, as well as Syria, are also experiencing increasing periods of drought and serious water crises (Kömüşcü
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth, 2021
The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) was launched as a massive pack... more The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) was launched as a massive package of water and land resources development project in 1977. Over time, the project was redefined as a multisectoral, integrated, and sustainable regional and human development project. This chapter seeks to make a critical appraisal of GAP on the basis of its formal objectives. To this end, the chapter explores GAP-induced changes and challenges specifically in the (i) infrastructural and economic and (ii) sociocultural dimensions of the project. Our main conclusion is that the state’s claim about the project’s success is not supported by the state’s own data.
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Peer-reviewed articles by Zeynep Sila Akinci
Book chapters by Zeynep Sila Akinci
Zeynep S. Akıncı and Pelin Tan
Waterdams as Dispossession: Ecology, Security, Colonization
Climates : Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary
Editor: James Graham
Columbia Books on Architecture and City
2016 — Lars Müller Publishers
Zeynep S. Akıncı and Pelin Tan
Waterdams as Dispossession: Ecology, Security, Colonization
Climates : Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary
Editor: James Graham
Columbia Books on Architecture and City
2016 — Lars Müller Publishers