I am a researcher specialized in transnational planning, development and displacement. Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bern, Institute of Geography Political Urbanism & Sustainable Spatial Development group. Previously, I was a research fellow at the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).
I have received my Ph.D. from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2016). I studied Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (MSc., 2009) and Sabanci University (BA, 2008) in Istanbul, Turkey. From 2015 to 2018, I worked at the Ohio State University, City and Regional Planning Section at the Knowlton School of Architecture, as a part-time faculty member. I grew up in multiple cities across Turkey; ended up specializing in residential displacement in urban context in my dissertation, which focuses on urban development-induced displacement. My dissertation is motivated by a short yet challenging question: Is it possible to plan urban renewal that does not cause displacement? Using case study methodology, I conduct a comparative analysis of the ongoing national urban renewal in Turkey. In my research, I explore the governance of urban transformation projects, community responses to urban change, and urban governance of diversity with a spatial justice and sustainability perspective. I am a mother of one. |