POPLINE Document Number: 125246
Author(s):
Erman T
Source citation:
ENVIRONMENT AND BEHAVIOR, 1996 Nov;28(6):764-98.
Abstract:
This study examines life patterns among women living in squatter settlements ("gecekondu") or apartments in Ankara, Turkey. Most people living in squatter housing were rural migrants. Most apartment housing was occupied by the lower middle class. The study relies on participant observation, formal and informal interviews, journals, photographs, and grounded theory to determine significant themes. The squatter study site of Cukurca was settled in the 1960s on the slopes of a hill south of the city. Paths connected detached houses, which had access to electricity and city water. Housing was not connected to a sewage system. A paved road connected people to the city. Economic status varied. The apartment study area of Bagcilar was situated a 20-minute walk away from Cukurca. Roads were under construction. Buildings had access to electricity, water, transportation, and stores. The quality of housing was low. Most women were not engaged in waged labor. The areas between houses in the squatter settlement were used for vegetable gardens and other intensive uses. Women gathered outdoors to converse and work on needle crafts and gardening. The women were very social and there was intimacy and companionship. The larger community negatively evaluated squatter communities. Women who were oriented to modern urban life dressed better and paid attention to outward appearances at all times. Other women only changed their attire when outside the squatter settlements. The women valued neighborliness in either settlement, but apartment living created more formal relations between women due to the lack of common space and residential heterogeneity. Home privacy was greater, and parents had greater control over child rearing. A move to an apartment signaled progress toward a better social status. This study revealed the active role women had in shaping their home environments and, for migrant women, ways of adapting to a new environment.
Keywords:
TurkeyIndex page
Surveys
Urban Population
Anthropology, Cultural
Housing
Squatters
Migrants
Self-Perception
Quality of Life
Women
Developing Countries
Europe, Southeastern
Europe
Sampling Studies
Studies
Research Methodology
Population Characteristics
Demographic Factors
Population
Anthropology
Social Sciences
Residence Characteristics
Population Distribution
Geographic Factors
Migration
Population Dynamics
Perception
Psychological Factors
Behavior
Social Welfare
Economic Factors