VERTICAL GATED COMMUNITIES: LOCAL EXPERIENCE IN A GLOBAL CITY Prof. Yurdanur DULGEROGLU YUKSEL* Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Taskisla, Taksim, 34 437 Istanbul, Turkey e-mail: yukselyu@itu.edu.tr Cagin TANRIVERDI Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Taskisla, Taksim, 34 437 Istanbul, Turkey e-mail: ctanriverdi@itu.edu.tr Onur DURMUS Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Taskisla, Taksim, 34 437 Istanbul, Turkey e-mail: onur_durmus@hotmail.com Abstract In the new millenium, living styles have been more diversified than before. This change has been a relatively new phenomena observed in the “worlds cities” . The paper attempts to inquire into the new dwelling and settlement formations, namely the “residences” or “condominiums” at the central city by examining the local socio- cultural factors, global economics, new actors in the urban markets, international interests for investments in a world city in order to develop an understanding of the user profile and their housing preferences. Ultimately such an exploration will contribute to the literature on the link between the world cities and the gated communities by informing the urban planners and architects, as well as the local authorities, of the residential trends and to project their decisions for the future urban development plans and housing types. The approach of the inquiry will be based on a new “residence” quarter created and occupied at the end of the fast -developing commercial axis of Istanbul, a world city, which is unique in the sense of being the only non-mix-use development of the decade. Being located on the most active central bussiness district (CBD) of Istanbul, this “residence” or vertical “gated community” is both affected by the urban transformations that the Metropolitan Municipality and is affecting the future developments and demand on urban land. Thus the global and the local tensions in the city at the layers of daily lives of the “residence” dwellers and economic de velopments occur, and this issue has to be reconciled and resolved at another layer, requiring possible new uses and new architecture of the city. Keywords: urban life style, residences, user profile, world city, urban transformations Introduction Concepts- Definitions Residence: Dictionary meaning of residence is house, place to dwell. The French word is résidence. It also means “place for the consulate, ambassador, attache or high level bureaucrat (Turkish Language Agency, 1998). In English language, residence today, carries a similar meaning to that of Latin the word rezidence is domus which denoted the houses of the rich during the Antique Rome. During A.C. 63, in Rome following the big fire, domuses started to be built by Neron and for the gentry. After the fire, it has contributed to the transformation of the city. Therefore, in this perspective, Istanbul’s late 20th century high rise elite housing shows similarities to Rome, the ancient capital of Europe (Gümüş, 2009). Beside its dictionary meaning, the word “rezidans” is associated with some architectural properties, such as distinction, quality and prestige symbol. The contemporary expression of it is highrises which provide more than one facility and services to its dwellers. Condominium: Based on the Latin word com (together) and dominia (right to belonging), it means shared belongings. First initiated in the US, condominiums defines a fragmented tenure of the parts / units of the apartment, rather than the apartment as a whole. The first condominium built in 1968 in