Order in Informal Settlements: A Case Study of Pinar, Istanbul

This article explores the notion of 'order' in informal settlements. Informal or squatter settlements typically epitomize physically chaotic and cluttered, socially and politically disorganized phenomena. Governments and public opinion have long shared and permeated such physical, social, and political stereotypes about these settlements, which make up more than half of the urban population in many developing countries.

Marshall's (2009) distinction between 'systematic' and 'characteristic' order and Mandelbrot's (1983) concept of 'scaling' were used as a conceptual framework to explore order in Pinar, Istanbul which served as a case study. Whereas systematic order implies a visually explicit type of order, characteristic order symbolizes an indirect and implicit order, which is not easily detectable.

Furthermore, the phenomenon of scaling seeks a nexus between seemingly disparate scales (i.e. large, medium, and small) of a phenomenon. Here, the notion of scale transcends its original and mere physical definition, and instead, encompasses the other non-physical attributes of an informal settlement (i.e. social and political) as well. The findings suggest five distinctive types of order detected and observed in planning, land use, social organization, conflict resolution, and the local politics of Pinar.