THE PRACTICE OF ADVOCACY PLANNING

The purpose of this study can be established on the search for a relationship between importance of advocacy planning in urban renovation and necessity of public participation in planning process. In this study, Sulukule Urban Renewal Project, which was implemented in Istanbul, is analyzed as a case from Turkey. Also, the study examines the successes and un-successes of the Istanbul’s Government’s current approach to linked urban regeneration and community renewal, using the Sulukule area as an example. Arguments to choose this case study can be explained with two reasons. First, the plan was developed and implemented without meaningful citizen participation and the government largely ignored the community, although the community and many experts, academics and activists in Sulukule Platform sought to take part in the planning process. Second, the project provides a unique opportunity to examine an (un)successful advocacy planning effort “The Sulukule Platform”, which became a form for opposing views, protests and alternative visions for the area.

2015

Today urban performance not only depends on the presence of physical capital, but also increasingly depends on human and social capitals. Cities are beyond the appearance. Social and cultural aspects of each city are regarded as latent aspects in urban planning, which have received less attention from theoretical and practical fields due to their non-physical nature and the difficulty to understand. Referring to the evolution of urban planning theories, this reseach attempts to study Paul Davidoff’s advocacy planning approach as one of the first intellectual principles in social, cultural and urban planning. The theoretical framework of this research can be selected with regard to a number of indices and in the light of theoretical principles of urban planning, planning design and research experiences worldwide, especially in Iran. Citizen participation in urban planning requires pattern designing.The plans and decisions are already designed and made in technical-centered pattern. E...

2010

In the social and economic development context the aims of advocacy are to create or change policies, laws, regulations, distribution of resources or other decisions that affect people’s lives and to ensure that such decisions lead to implementation. Such advocacy is generally directed at policy makers including politicians, government officials and public servants, but also private sector leaders whose decisions impact upon peoples lives, as well as those whose opinions and actions influence policy makers, such as journalists and the media, development agencies and large NGOs.

Sulukule stands out as a symbolic case for social justice groups that promote the expansion of civil rights and defend neighborhoods that struggle for their rights. Therefore, the Sulukule Platform shows that another form of transformation which involves public participation in the decision-making phase of planning is possible in the cities. This study aims to demonstrate how the advocacy planning method is significant in planning for communities, and proposes to present a full report of the Sulukule Platform case. It also provides a historical background that works to contextualize Sulukule and their struggle into the broader context of socio-economic inequalities in Istanbul and the fight of inhabitants in urban transformation areas for their civil rights. The study focuses on one of the less experimented planning models, advocacy planning, and analyzes its first incidence in Turkey through the Sulukule Platform. Also it examines public participation and its place in the urban planning profession.

2014

is an independent, non-profit research institution and a major international centre in policy-oriented and applied development research. Focus is on development and human rights issues and on international conditions that affect such issues. The geographical focus

The article proposes three ways of operating that are based on a re-reading of advocacy planning: 'Choose a cause', 'Create a constituency', and 'Add an agenda'. Firstly, in 'Choose a cause', the article revisits Davidoff's notion of the advocacy planner, but explores how the tools and representational techniques have changed the process and its products. Secondly, in 'Create a constituency', it examines a new model of project initiation that occurs without a client, which differs significantly from Davidoff's conception of how the advocate works. Thirdly, in 'Add an agenda', it discusses techniques of building additional agendas into a project that are external to (and sometimes even in conflict with) the client's goals. By identifying these ways of operating as an advocate, the article seeks to define a proactive alternative to traditional professional practice.

Planning Theory & Practice, 2019

In the years following World War II, the United States experienced a period of unmatched economic prosperity and political influence, which many scholars refer to as 'Pax Americana.' While the majority of Americans saw their employment status, household incomes, housing conditions, and overall quality of life significantly improve during this period, the majority of African American, Latino, and Native American communities did not (Lane, 2012). Growing disparities between rising economic expectations in the general population and limited educational, employment, and housing opportunities afforded to racial minoritiesreinforced by institutional racism based in white privilegelaid the foundations for the American Civil Rights movement which grew in size and influence throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1965, Paul Davidoff, reflecting upon growing racial inequality in American society, wrote, 'Advocacy and Pluralism in Planning' which challenged several of the most important assumptions underlying the rational model of planning which dominated mid-century professional practice in the United States and Europe (Davidoff, 1965). This article, which remains one of the most often cited in planning, argues against the existence of a unitary public interest in favor of multiple public interests based upon race, class, religion, ethnicity, and gender. The article also questions the objectivity of local planning agencies which Davidoff believed advanced policies and plans benefitting powerful economic elites at the expense of those living in poor and working-class neighborhoods. Having identified these limitations of mid-century planning, Davidoff proposed what William F. Whyte called a "social invention" to address the disturbing role planners were playing in promoting uneven patterns of metropolitan development at a time when African American youth were engaged in courageous acts of non-violent civil disobedience to dismantle racial discrimination in education, employment, housing and transportation (Whyte, 1983). Davidoff urged social-justice oriented planners to work with poor, racial minorities, immigrant communities, senior citizens and persons with disabilities to produce high quality plans featuring redistributive policies and participatory policymaking processes to serve as effective alternatives to those being proposed by centralized planning agencies privileging the needs of, what Logan and Molotch termed, urban growth machines (Logan & Molotch, 1987). By working with groups frequently ignored by mainstream planning to generate oppositional plans, Davidoff believed advocacy planners could transform municipal planning commissions into deliberative bodies capable of critically assessing the underlying assumptions, theoretical frameworks, empirical evidence and planning recommendations of competing plansthereby producing more thoughtful and equitable planning decisions. Inspired by Davidoff's ideas and angered by CONTACT Kenneth Reardon

MCP Gradute Thesis, DAAP, University of Cincinnati, OH, USA, 2014

""Sulukule was one of the most famous neighborhoods in Istanbul because of the Romani culture and historic identity. In 2006, the Fatih Municipality knocked on the residents’ doors with an urban renovation project. The community really did not know how they could retain their residence in the neighborhood; unfortunately everybody knew that they would not prosper in another place without their community connections. They were poor and had many issues impeding their livelihoods, but there should have been another solution that did not involve eviction. People, associations, different volunteer groups, universities in Istanbul, and also some trade associations were supporting the people of Sulukule. The Sulukule Platform was founded as this predicament began and fought against government eviction for years. In 2009, the area was totally destroyed, although the community did everything possible to save their neighborhood through the support of the Sulukule Platform. I cannot say that they lost everything in this process, but I also cannot say that anything was won. I can only say that the Fatih Municipality soiled its hands. No one will forget Sulukule, but everybody will remember the Fatih Municipality with this unsuccessful project. Sulukule stands out as a symbolic case for social justice groups that promote the expansion of civil rights and defend neighborhoods that struggle for their rights. Therefore, the Sulukule Platform shows that another form of transformation which involves public participation in the decision-making phase of planning is possible in the cities. This study aims to demonstrate how the advocacy planning method is significant in planning for communities. This thesis proposes to present a full report of the Sulukule Platform case. It also provides a historical background that works to contextualize Sulukule and their struggle into the broader context of socio-economic inequalities in Istanbul and the fight of inhabitants in urban transformation areas for their civil rights. The study focuses on one of the less experimented planning models, advocacy planning, and analyzes its first incidence in Turkey through the Sulukule Platform. Also it examines public participation and its place in the urban planning profession. This thesis, first, will help to show how Turkish public officials failed to learn from the mistakes of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s; second, it will look at how the urban renewal is being implemented in developing countries especially in Turkey. I will argue that because globalizing-cities like Istanbul are being pressured to implement urban renewal but are often failing to learn lessons from American and European urban renewal.""