POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF REFUGEES ON CITIES AND REAL ESTATE MARKETS: THE CASE OF GAZİANTEP PROVINCE

Abstract

Housing has been a current crisis issue in recent years that has occupied the agenda in many countries, including Turkey. The increase in housing prices and rents and the changes in urban spaces and the housing market due to the number of asylum seekers are noteworthy. The civil war that emerged in Syria in 2011 forced people to migrate. With the migration movements, it was inevitable that many problems, especially the need for housing, would arise in many cities of Turkey. The study aims to eliminate the main problems related to spatial insufficiency and local services in the cities receiving migration and to determine how these areas can be evaluated after the migration of asylum seekers to their countries or other countries. Land and housing production, population and household numbers, home ownership, prices, and rent changes in Gaziantep province were investigated, and the development of the city’s planning area, land production, and adequacy of infrastructure services were analyzed. By applying a survey to public and private sector employees and managers of the province, managers of professional organizations, and other stakeholders, the effects of asylum seekers on the city’s economy, saand tial, economic, social, and environmental change were evaluated. According to the research findings, the urban economy’s risks and opportunities have been analyzed. According to the research results, the decisions that need to be made to manage the crises that cities may face in current conditions and new migrations should be evaluated within the scope of sustainable urban land management policies and urban economy. Sustainable urban policies should be developed for the housing problem.