CREATIVE DESTRUCTION OR EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITIES?: READING THE CITY AND ARCHITECTURE THROUGH LIBERLAND

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 16 Sayı: 1, 576 - 587, 01.01.2026

Dicle Kızıldere Gökyer , Ecem Uğurlu

https://doi.org/10.7456/tojdac.1797915

https://izlik.org/JA73GF45PR

Öz

The concept of the metaverse, once envisioned as a virtual space of experience, has gained renewed momentum following its global rebranding during the COVID-19 pandemic. As cities such as Santa Monica, Seoul, and Shanghai begin to integrate metaverse strategies into their urban agendas, the metaverse is increasingly positioned as a “second world” that may significantly alter the future of urban life, architecture, and planning. However, this shift has also provoked critical debate around issues of urban rights, particularly the right to the city. This study explores the socio-spatial and political dimensions of the metaverse through a qualitative analysis grounded in critical urban theory. Drawing on the concepts of democracy, participatory rights, and socio-spatial inequality, the research interrogates how the emergence of virtual urbanism challenges conventional understandings of citizenship, public space, and urban experience. The analysis centers on the case of Liberland, the first digitally constructed libertarian metaverse micronation designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, to assess how digital urban environments redefine notions of sovereignty, participation, and spatial justice. While the metaverse presents radical new possibilities for architectural/ urban design and governance, it also raises fundamental uncertainties regarding contextualization, public legitimacy, and integration into lived urban realities. The study argues that rethinking the right to the city in virtual contexts is essential for developing inclusive and equitable digital futures.

Anahtar Kelimeler

metaverse , liberland , Right to the city , Architectural design , Urban planning , Virtual Planning

YARATICI BİR YIKIM MI YOKSA SIRA DIŞI FIRSATLAR MI?: KENTİ VE MİMARLIĞI LIBERLAND ÜZERİNDEN OKUMA

https://izlik.org/JA73GF45PR

Öz

Metaverse kavramı, başlangıçta sanal bir deneyim mekânı olarak tasavvur edilmişken, COVID-19 pandemisi sırasında yaşanan küresel yeniden yapılanmasının ardından yeniden ivme kazanmıştır. Santa Monica, Seul ve Şanghay gibi kentlerin metaverse stratejilerini kentsel gündemlerine entegre etmeye başlamasıyla birlikte, metaverse giderek “ikinci bir dünya” olarak konumlandırılmakta ve kentsel yaşamın, mimarlığın ve planlamanın geleceğini derinden dönüştürebilecek bir potansiyel taşımaktadır. Ancak bu dönüşüm, kent hakkına ilişkin eleştirel tartışmaları da beraberinde getirmiştir. Bu bağlamda, bu çalışma metaverse’ün sosyo-mekânsal ve politik boyutlarını eleştirel kentsel kuram çerçevesinde nitel bir analizle incelemektedir. Demokrasi, katılım hakkı ve sosyo-mekânsal eşitsizlik kavramlarından yola çıkarak, sanal kentleşmenin ortaya çıkışının yurttaşlık, kamusal alan ve kentsel deneyim gibi yerleşik kavrayışları nasıl dönüştürdüğü sorgulanmaktadır. Analizin odağında, Zaha Hadid Mimarlık tarafından tasarlanan ve dijital ortamda inşa edilen ilk liberteryen metaverse mikro ulus-devleti olan Liberland örneği yer almaktadır. Bu örnek üzerinden, metaverese kentlerinin egemenlik, katılım ve mekânsal adalet kavramlarını nasıl yeniden tanımladığı değerlendirilmektedir. Metaverse, mimari/kentsel tasarım ve yönetişim açısından radikal yeni olanaklar sunsa da, bağlamsallık, kamusal meşruiyet ve fiziksel kentsel gerçekliklerle bütünleşme konularında temel belirsizlikleri de gündeme getirmektedir. Bu çalışma, sanal bağlamda kent hakkını yeniden düşünmenin, kapsayıcı ve adil dijital gelecekler inşa edebilmek açısından kritik önem taşıdığını savunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Metaverse , Liberland , Kent Hakkı , Mimari tasarım , Kent planlama , Sanal planlama

Kaynakça

• Andiloro, A. (2022). 'This must be the place': Understanding video game placeness through atmosphere and the refrain in Dark Souls. Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds, 14(2), 207-223.
• Anderson, J., & Rainie, L. (2022). The Metaverse in 2040. Pew Research Center, Washington.
• Aurigi, A. (2022). Smart cities, metaverses, and the relevance of place. IET Smart Cities, 4(3), 157-159.
• Barns, S. (2019). Platform urbanism: Negotiating platform ecosystems in connected cities. Springer.
• Bibri, S., & Allam, Z. (2022). The Metaverse as a virtual form of data-driven smart cities: The ethics of the hyper-connectivity, datafication, algorithmization, and platformization of urban society. Computational Urban Science, 2(1), 22.
• Bucknell, A. (2023). Ways of Worlding: Building Alternative Futures in Multispace. Architectural Design, 93(6), 94-103.
• Caffio, G., & Unali, M. (2023). Towards an Atlas of Metaverse in Architecture: Timeline 1980-2023. img journal, 9, 128-141.
• Cardullo, P., & Kitchin, R. (2018). Being a 'citizen' in the smart city: up and down the scaffold of smart citizen participation in Dublin, Ireland. GeoJournal, 84(1), 1-13.
• Chen, S., Cheng Chu Chan, I., Xu, S., Law, R., & Zhang, M. (2023). Metaverse in tourism: drivers and hindrances from stakeholders' perspective. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing , 40(2), 169-184.
• Cugurullo, F. (2022). Social implications of autonomous vehicles: a focus on time. AI & Society, 37(2), 791-800.
• Dionisio, J., G. Burns Iii, W., & Gilbert, R. (2013). 3D virtual worlds and the metaverse: Current status and future possibilities. ACM computing surveys, 45(3), 1-38.
• Dorostkar, E. (2025). Embedding the metaverse into regional planning for sustainability: a framework of virtual-physical synergies in resource use and social progress. Planning Practice & Research, 1-7.
• Finney, A. (2022, 03 11). Dezeen. Retrieved 07 2025, from https://www.dezeen.com/2022/03/11/liberland-metaverse-city-zaha-hadid-architects/
• Free Republic of Liberland. (2023, 04 11). Retrieved 03 2025, from Free Republic of Liberland: https://liberland.org/en/about/
• Friedmann, J. (1995). The right to the city. Society and Nature, 1(1), 71-84.
• Gaffar, A.-M. (2021). Using metaverse to rebuild non-reachable or ruined heritage buildings. International Journal of Architecture, Arts and Applications , 7(4), 119-130.
• Harvey, D. (2008). The Right to the City. (53).
• Harvey, D. (2012). Rebel cities: From the right to the city to the urban revolution. Verso books.
• HOK. (2002, 02 28). How architects and designers can help define the metaverse. Retrieved 07 2025, from https://www.hok.com/ideas/research/how-architects-and-designers-can-help-define-the-metaverse/
• Hollands, R. (2020). Will the real smart city please stand up?: Intelligent, progressive or entrepreneurial? In K. Willis, & A. Aurigi, The Routledge companion to smart cities (pp. 179-199). The Routledge.
• Hudson-Smith, A. (2022). Incoming metaverses: Digital mirrors for urban planning. Urban planning, 7(2), 343-354.
• Hyun-joo, J., Youn, H.-c., & Kim, T.-h. (2022). Blockchain and AI Meet in the Metaverse. In T. Fern￡ndez-Caram￩s, & P. Fraga-Lamas, Advances in the Convergence of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (pp. 73-82). IntechOpen.
• Kitchin, R. (2020). Civil liberties or public health, or civil liberties and public health? Using surveillance technologies to tackle the spread of COVID-19. Space and Polity, 24(3), 362-381.
• Kofoed-Ottesen, M. (2020). On the possible phenomenological autonomy of virtual realities. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 20(1).
• Lefebvre, H. (1968). Le droit ￡ la ville (The right to the city). Paris: Anthropos.
• Lynch, C., & Mu￱oz-Viso, A. (2024). Blockchain urbanism: Evolving geographies of libertarian exit and technopolitical failure. Progress in Human Geography, 48(1), 66-84.
• MacArthur, C., Kukshinov, E., Harley, D., Pawar, T., Modi, N., & Nacke, L. (2024). Experiential disparities in social VR: uncovering power dynamics and inequality. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 5, 1-12.
• Palumbo, J. (2022, 03 24). Ambitious plans unveiled for a libertarian city in the metaverse. Retrieved 07 2025, from https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/liberland-metaverse-city-zaha-hadid-architects/index.html
• Petrov?i?, A., Reisdorf, B., Quan-Haase, A., Bartol, J., & Groﾚelj, D. (2024). Digital inequalities among internet users before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparison from two cross-sectional surveys in Slovenia. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 209.
• Purcell, M. (2002). Excavating Lefebvre: The right to the city and its urban politics of the inhabitant. GeoJournal, 58(2), 99-108.
• Rosenberg, L. (2022). Regulation of the Metaverse: A Roadmap: The risks and regulatory solutions for largescale consumer platforms. Proceedings of the 2022 6th International Conference on Virtual and Augmented Reality Simulations , (pp. 21-26). Brisbane.
• Schumacher, P. (2022). The metaverse as opportunity for architecture and society: design drivers, core competencies. Architectural Intelligence, 1(11), 1-20.
• Shakeri , S. (2022, 03 25). The Liberland Metaverse, Zaha Hadid Architects' Way Into The Web 3.0. Retrieved 2025 07, from https://parametric-architecture.com/the-liberland-metaverse-zaha-hadid-architects-way-into-the-web-3-0/#google_vignette
• Stouhi, D. (2022, March 15). Archdaily. Retrieved from https://www.archdaily.com/978522/zaha-hadid-architects-designs-cyber-urban-metaverse-city
• Swyngedouw, E. (2009). "Whose Right to the City? The Antinomies of the Post-Political City". Urban Research and Architecture: Beyond Henri Lefebvre . Zurich: ETH - Technical University of Zurich.
• Vanolo, A. (2016). Is there anybody out there? The place and role of citizens in tomorrow's smart cities. Futures, 82, 26-36.
• White, G., Zink, A., Codec￡, L., & Clarke, S. (2021). A digital twin smart city for citizen feedback. Cities, 110, 1-11.