Rural and Alpine Gentrification Impact on Lifestyle Mobilities During Covid-19: The Yayla Experience at the Taurus Mountains in Turkey

COVID-19 has had significant impacts on social and economic sectors worldwide. International travel and tourism are restricted as preventive measures to combat the disease. However, it is clearly visible that the mobility from urban to rural areas continues within the borders of the countries during the pandemic. Mobility to the countryside is named as lifestyle mobility. It varies significantly in motivations, frequency, push and pull factors, and duration of stay. It is also considered an essential agent of change that causes gentrification in rural vicinities regarding economic structure, real estate market, and sociocultural life. The recent spread of COVID-19 has also been deemed a vital push for urban-rural mobility. The present study is aimed to explore the gentrification of lifestyle mobilities in the Yaylas of the Taurus Mountains during the pandemic. A mixed-method approach using questionnaire and interview techniques was applied. Results revealed that the duration and frequency of seasonal mobility towards second homes in Turkey have changed with the spread of COVID-19. Moreover, it is found that the selected mountain areas confront the impacts of urbanization, increase in housing prices, and commercial occupation of land. The research concludes that such changes are augmented due to the increased mobility of urbanites belonging to the new middle class of Mersin and Adana metropolitan cities to rural areas to escape COVID-19. Due to the increase in lifestyle mobility, gentrification takes place in rural and mountainous areas, and accordingly, rural residents tend to move to the city.