Localized Marginalization: Migrant Spaces and Non-Places in Istanbul

Abstract

Istanbul, as a metropolis, shapes migrant experiences through its fragmented urban landscape. While offering opportunities, its socio-spatial dynamics push migrants into precarious, transient, and exclusionary spaces. This article examines how local policies, economic conditions, and social narratives construct non-places, spaces of transition, alienation, and instability. Through an analysis of films and documentaries set in Istanbul, the study explores how the city produces and reinforces non-places for migrants through localized urban strategies and the tension between tradition and modernity. Situating these films within the discourse of localization and glocalization, the paper highlights how cities become both sites of exclusion and adaptation, where migrants negotiate between place and displacement. The paper explores how non-places in Istanbul, shape the experiences of migrants and strangers to the city. Furthermore, it argues that these non-places themselves take on a migrant quality, constantly shifting, mirroring the instability of those who inhabit or pass through them.