Youenn Gourain: The Fault Line and the City. A Journey Through a Joint Endeavour Between Risk and the Urban Landscape in Istanbul.

This thesis examines the conditions under which seismic risk emerges in Istanbul—before a seismic disaster strikes—by studying the interrelationships across geographical scales and the potential interactions between actors and stakeholders involved in this process. Particularly following the August 1999 earthquake in the Marmara region, the prospect of a potential major earthquake (olası depremi) in Istanbul has brought together the city’s key stakeholders to address the issue. The research draws on a qualitative study to closely track the operators (scientists, engineers, public institutions for planning and disaster management, construction and property firms, associations) who, in the sense of the sociology of science and technology, ‘take an interest’ in seismic risk. The increasing complexity of the concept of the ‘fabric’ allows us to reconceptualise the modes of interaction between risks and urban spaces in a joint manner, centred on two strands of analysis. The first strand explores the performative aspect of seismic risk, in order to understand how this risk structures the organisation of urban planning in Istanbul.

Against a backdrop of economic and political instability, vulnerable buildings present a challenge in terms of seismic risk and bring together stakeholders in the construction sector, whilst in turn fragmenting the professional world of urban planning. The second strand examines, at the neighbourhood level, the local assemblages at work in the construction of urban space, as material and social products of negotiations—whether settled or not—between urban planning stakeholders and residents and their representatives (neighbourhood mayors, associations, solidarity groups or disaster education centres). These highlight alternatives for managing risks based on new forms of knowledge.

Conversely, their re-institutionalisation at higher levels raises questions about the standardisation of local practices. The thesis highlights the complex relationships between risks that, on the face of it, belong to different categories. It emphasises the idea that, as seismic risk is interpreted and translated, seismic hazard becomes diluted within broader constellations of actors, entities and correlated risks. Through the lens of socio-technical systems, the thesis sheds light on the delicate coexistence of these risks in the same location, if not their intertwining or even friction.

Composition of the jury

• Laurent Devisme, Professor at ENSA Nantes (Rapporteur)
• Valérie November, Research Director, CNRS (PhD supervisor)
• Jean-François Pérouse, Senior Lecturer (HDR), University of Toulouse Jean-Jaurès (Examiner)
• Sezin Topçu, Research Fellow, CNRS CEMS-EHESS (Examiner)
• Elsa Vivant, Professor, Gustave Eiffel University (Examiner)
• Albena Yaneva, Professor, University of Manchester (Rapporteur)