Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits / Ekümenopolis: Ucu olmayan sehir (2011)

Crisis Mirror has a pleasure to invite you to the screening of Imre Azem's
documentary *Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits* (2011) on Thursday, Feb 13,
at Støberiet (Blågårdsplads 3), starting at 20.00.

The film delves into the worldwide process of neoliberal urbanization
through a particular case study. It depicts the rapid transformation of
Istanbul from a reasonable sized industrial city into a finance and
consumption-centered megalopolis that has dramatically exceeded its
environmental, economic and population limits.

During the process the city has also lost its social cohesion as the rich
isolate themselves in gated communities, while the poor are pushed into
social housing projects on the periphery of the city. Skyscrapers, highways
and shopping malls that cover the ruins of demolished working class
neighborhoods are landmarks of the new spatial dynamics that are defined by
the neoliberal policies of the city administrators. But what does this
development eventually serve: financial gain or people's needs?

The film aims for holistic approach to its topic in conversation with
experts, academics, writers, investors, city-dwellers, and community
leaders. It does not just record the transformation of Istanbul as such,
but seeks also to grasp the more general dynamics behind it. By doing this
it provides an account that might help us to understand the current
urbanization processes that shape also our own lifeworlds.

There is a room for open discussion after the film.

Everybody is welcome, admission is free!