Peer-reviewed articles by Zeynep Sila Akinci
Geoforum, 2020
The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, a... more The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, and practice of development. Since the 1980s, many scholars have employed this critical framework to unearth the overlooked power relations created and altered by the concept of development in general, and development projects in particular. This article contributes to this debate by advancing and enriching this perspective. Analyzing a broad number of official sources supporting Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) and drawing theoretically on the concept of power of Michel Foucault and absences of Boaventura de Sousa Santos, we argue that GAP is part of a state strategy to produce southeastern Turkey by design and the representation of lack. We develop a framework that helps us understand the narratives on the project as a design of absences, a design-power that works as a particular form of power-knowledge. In the terrain of absences, design has become the way to exercise power together with the observation of geography and population. The absences created by the development discourse become a key-feature of design-power. In this sense, GAP is design-power to produce a new region and new subjectivities and works as a particular form of power-knowledge.
BMC Geriatrics
Background Walking is an essential activity for everyone and for older adults in particular, give... more Background Walking is an essential activity for everyone and for older adults in particular, given that it is the most accessible form of physical activity and one of the healthiest transportation modes. Understanding how walkability (the potential of the environment to enable and/or encourage walking) has been objectively measured and analyzed for older adults is critical to create more inclusive, healthy, and sustainable environments and to promote healthy aging. Despite the numerous reviews on physical activity among older adults and its relationship with the built environment, the literature still lacks comparison reviews focusing specifically on objective operationalizations of walkability for older adults vs. the general population. Methods We conducted a systematic review of 146 empirical studies that measured walkability objectively in relation to walking-related outcomes. We compared studies focused on older adults (n = 24) and the general population (n = 122). Content anal...
Journal of Transport Geography, Dec 26, 2021
Geoforum, 2020
The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, a... more The Foucauldian concept of power-knowledge has been a useful lens to study the idea, discourse, and practice of development. Since the 1980s, many scholars have employed this critical framework to unearth the overlooked power relations created and altered by the concept of development in general, and development projects in particular. This article contributes to this debate by advancing and enriching this perspective. Analyzing a broad number of official sources supporting Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) and drawing theoretically on the concept of power of Michel Foucault and absences of Boaventura de Sousa Santos, we argue that GAP is part of a state strategy to produce southeastern Turkey by design and the representation of lack. We develop a framework that helps us understand the narratives on the project as a design of absences, a design-power that works as a particular form of power-knowledge. In the terrain of absences, design has become the way to exercise power together with the observation of geography and population. The absences created by the development discourse become a key-feature of design-power. In this sense, GAP is design-power to produce a new region and new subjectivities and works as a particular form of power-knowledge.
Journal of Aging and Physical Activity
This study explores how older adults’ time out-of-home and physical activity (PA) are associated ... more This study explores how older adults’ time out-of-home and physical activity (PA) are associated with the provision of urban open spaces (green spaces, plazas, and boulevards) and microelements (street trees and benches) in their neighborhoods. The authors used data from 103 residents in Barcelona and matched it to official geospatial data. The authors adjusted a set of mixed-effects linear regressions, both for the entire sample and also stratified by age and gender. For the entire sample, the percentage of green spaces showed a positive association with neighborhood time out-of-home and PA, while participants’ PA also showed a positive association with the presence of benches. Outdoor time among older women was not associated with any of the measured exposures. For men, the provision of green spaces and benches was positively associated with time out-of-home and PA. These results could inform the design of urban spaces that aim to encourage outdoor activity among older adults.
Book chapters by Zeynep Sila Akinci
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth, 2021
The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) was launched as a massive pack... more The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) was launched as a massive package of water and land resources development project in 1977. Over time, the project was redefined as a multisectoral, integrated, and sustainable regional and human development project. This chapter seeks to make a critical appraisal of GAP on the basis of its formal objectives. To this end, the chapter explores GAP-induced changes and challenges specifically in the (i) infrastructural and economic and (ii) sociocultural dimensions of the project. Our main conclusion is that the state’s claim about the project’s success is not supported by the state’s own data.
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth, 2021
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth, 2021
The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) was launched as a massive pack... more The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) was launched as a massive package of water and land resources development project in 1977. Over time, the project was redefined as a multisectoral, integrated, and sustainable regional and human development project. This chapter seeks to make a critical appraisal of GAP on the basis of its formal objectives. To this end, the chapter explores GAP-induced changes and challenges specifically in the (i) infrastructural and economic and (ii) sociocultural dimensions of the project. Our main conclusion is that the state’s claim about the project’s success is not supported by the state’s own data.
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Peer-reviewed articles by Zeynep Sila Akinci
Book chapters by Zeynep Sila Akinci
Zeynep S. Akıncı and Pelin Tan
Waterdams as Dispossession: Ecology, Security, Colonization
Climates : Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary
Editor: James Graham
Columbia Books on Architecture and City
2016 — Lars Müller Publishers
Zeynep S. Akıncı and Pelin Tan
Waterdams as Dispossession: Ecology, Security, Colonization
Climates : Architecture and the Planetary Imaginary
Editor: James Graham
Columbia Books on Architecture and City
2016 — Lars Müller Publishers