Gated Communities as Urban Reproduction Practice: Semiotic Analysis from Istanbul

Authors : Sevim Seyhan Ayten

Pages : 153-177

Doi:10.26835/my.1585365

View : 37 | Download : 25

Publication Date : 2025-04-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study is motivated by the design of urban spaces that distill the genetic codes of historical and cultural accumulations, geographical features, and architectural forms into a minimal formula, which is then transcendentally reproduced in a different context beyond time and place. In postmodern consumer society, decontextualized and redefined images, emptied of their original meaning, have been commodified as alluring objects of desire. In a consumer society where needs evolve into desires, gated communities also serve as a form of urban intervention embodying a practice of reproduction. This study focuses on the design and marketing strategies of gated communities shaped by consumer culture, alongside the displaced spatial structure they create within the city. This structure arises from the commodification of history, physical geography, and cultural traces, which are reconstituted in a hyperreal space reminiscent of a theatrical stage. This study aims to critically reframe gated communities within a theoretical framework, analyzing them through the lens of hyperreality, with a particular focus on imitation and displacement. It seeks to reveal the reflections of postmodern consumption indicators in the production of gated communities and their urban spatial effects. For the field research, gated communities in Istanbul that instrumentalize the reproduction of images from diverse contexts, -such as Venice, the Bosphorus, and Tuscany- through an imitation of life narrative were selected. A semiotic analysis was conducted to examine the internal dynamics, marketing strategies, and spatial characteristics of these gated communities. The verbal, written, and visual materials obtained from promotional brochures, advertising films, catalogs, websites, and real estate portals constitute the basis for the semiotic analysis. In this direction, a critical reading has been developed by discussing displacement in gated communities, formed through the reproduction of place via the imitation of images.
Keywords : Yersizleşme, Kapalı Konut Yerleşmeleri, Hipergerçeklik, Taklit, Göstergebilimsel Çözümleme