State-led coastal transformation in South Aegean Türkiye: Multiscalar interventions and oppositional movements in the case of Datça Muğla

Abstract

The article aims to reveal the contentious politics behind the state-led coastal transformation in South Aegean Türkiye by concentrating on the emblematic case of Datça Muğla. The research on Türkiye’s coastal transformation is still inadequate, particularly to analyze the role of the state, its policies, interventions and counter movements. The article underlies on the main argument that the coastal transformation in Türkiye manifests remarkable urban development to explore the role of the state policies and the socio-political reactions against them. The state initiated the coastal transformation process via the enforcement of key legislations and associated governmental regulations, and the top-down implementation of development plans and flagships projects. Fostered by the powerful market forces, these state-led practices are confronted with conflicts and social struggles at multiple scales of urban policymaking. The article draws on comprehensive research, employed multiple methods including a content analysis of coastal legislations, a documentary analysis of the key coastal plans and projects and lastly, a critical examination of some remarkable lawsuits, news and new governmental regulations on the coasts of Datça peninsula. As the case of Datça illustrates, a new conservation legislation at the macro-scale, the new yacht port and tourism-induced coastal development projects at the meso-scale, and the occupation of the public beaches by many legally constructed ways at the micro-scale, have consistently reconfigured the multiscalar interventions in the coastal transformation processes. The article presents original findings for reconsidering planning policies for coastal areas and calls for a broader public discussion.