Transnational Production Spaces: Impacts of the clothing industry on urban spaces and urban planning at production locations in Western Turkey and Southern Bulgaria (Istanbul, Tekirdag, Kardzhali)

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This research project explores the spatial effects of industrial production and the role of urban planning at different locations of a transnational production network of the clothing industry that connects Southeast European production sites with Western European fashion companies and markets. The project aims to investigate the interplay of local and transnational forces in the spatial and physical development of these production locations. The research approach integrates existing research into global commodity chains and global production networks from the field of economic geography with urban research. By investigating how industrial production contributes to the constitution of transnational urban spaces, the research addresses a frequently reiterated research gap. The case study focuses on three industrial locations which relate to different stages of product processing and different levels of value creation: (1) an industrial zone with large-scale factory production in the Tekirdag region west of Istanbul, (2) the inner-city industrial and residential quarter of Bagcilar in Istanbul with suppliers workshops and home-based work, and (3) the town of Kardzhali and its rural hinterland in Southern Bulgaria with small-scale sewing factories. Within the context of transnational economic dynamics, this project will trace how industrial production shapes the physical urban space and drives urban development in these locations, thereby also exploring its influence on municipal and regional planning governance. Research methodologies include spatial mappings, qualitative interviews and the evaluation of policy documents. The research aims to build an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of spatial negotiations and the role, scope and leverage of the different actors involved - from the local to the global, between bottom-up and top-down drivers of urban development, and at the intersections between formal and informal economic and building practices.