Resetllement and being urbanized: Tibil housing in Kilis

The village of Tibil on the border between Turkey and Syria was evacuated based on a decision dated in 1983 to form a safe area and expand customs area. As a result of obligatory migration, the residents of the village were settled in a neighborhood called Tibil Houses, constructed under the housing plans for the central part of Kilis city. This study examined the lives of people in Tibil, their experiences of obligatory migration arising from housing decisions and their adaptation to urban life, as well as the spatial, socio-cultural and political problems they experienced with the urban residents. The socio-political problems of these people, who as a result, became unemployed, suffered from relative poverty and felt excluded, were examined with the emphasis on the deficient aspects of the housing policy. This study aimed to examine the impact of urban policies on urban life in relation to the migration-based experiences of people from Tibil who had to move because of housing law no 2510. Accordingly, a deep interview method – a qualitative research method – was used to collect data from 16 people who were born in Tibil, lived through the social stages created by the aforementioned law and still live in Tibil. The interviews indicated that people suffered from poverty and exclusion due to the inadequate practices regarding the law on housing, and that people still have problems in adapting to urban life.