Bringing together two disciplines, geography and urban design, this thesis focusses on informality with special emphasis on the ties between urban informality and urban transformations in Istanbul between the beginning of the1990’s and the 2010’s. It argues that, on one hand informal practices highly determine Istanbul’s spatial formations, on the other they are constantly threatened by urban renewal projects. The purpose is to question a diffused misinterpretation: that in contemporary cities urban informality is a marginal phenomenon. In Istanbul this 'marginality' perspective has been ruling the urban governance in Istanbul, leading to the segregation of part of its population. In contrast with this view, my design proposal outlines an urban regeneration strategy, that takes into account the spontaneous coexistence and hybridization between formal and informal practices, local and global trends.
