Abstract
It has been more than one-year since the first Covid-19 case was announced in Turkey. At the beginning of the pandemic, lockdown and quarantine measurements announced by the government were seen as acceptable since it was thought to be for short term. “Stay at home” calls of the state were followed and obeyed by the public without question. However, the living conditions were not the same for every level of the society to ‘stay at home’. Pandemic has deepened and sharpened already existing gap and inequality between the poor and rich groups in Istanbul. Low income groups who live in disadvantaged neighbourhoods with high building densities, low housing quality and insufficient environmental facilities suffered far more than upper income groups. During the pandemic, use of public spaces like green areas, parks, playgrounds, pedestrian ways, squares and waterfronts were prohibited, which are already inadequate and unevenly distributed in Istanbul. The consequences of this situation can be listed as follows; the pandemic spreaded faster in high density neighbourhoods, spending hours in small and bad quality dwelling units most of which have no light, sun, and clean air caused psychological problems and family violence in large families, increasing unemployment caused deeper poverty. Lack of public space and lack of equal access to public space prevented organizational ability of communities for self-help and cause alienation which are deep and unspoken effects of the pandemic. The right to access the city and open spaces has been damaged once again by these prohibitions. After spending more than one year with the pandemic, it has become clear that this situation is used by the state as justification for enhancing its power and hegemony on public which is more concerning than the virus itself. Instead of vaccination and abolishing the bans, still the quarantina and restrictions are in operation. Prohibiting the public space is appearently not for fighting the pandemic but for spreading the hegemony of the state. Loss of urban jobs and rising inequality have already led to economical and social crisis in the society and the quarantine measures taken by the government became a tool to suppress this crisis rather than to mitigate it. So in a city where mosques and shopping malls are open, whereas schools, parks and squares are closed, it became evident that the urban environment has become a stage for the political power to reveal its political aims to shape the society. Claiming right to the city and public space have become more critical than ever to cope with this situation. Instead of prohibiting the public space, more public spaces should be created and arranged in accordance with the pandemic conditions. People need to socialize, be organized, relax and refresh in open green areas more than ever. In the past the pandemics have had positive outcomes on cities like better and healtier infrastructures, sewage systems, better drinking water quality etc. Today it is also inevitable that the pandemic will have positive effect on redesign and accessibility of public spaces.. Understanding the relationship between urban inhabitants and availability and accessibility of open space is vital in terms of sustainability, equality and resilience of urban areas. There is a need for creating more powerfull, self-sufficient, sustainable, healtier and resilient communities and cities as opposed to prohibition which empowers hegemony, inequality and poverty. Key words: public space, pandemic, accessibility, equal right to city
