My presentation proposes to examine the brutal transformation of the coastal regions of northern Istanbul in the context of the urbanization of the region and the construction of several mega-projects, including a new airport. The aim is to consider the region’s shift from rural to urban, producing a “transition space” for travelers from all over the world and a space “in” transition with the transformation of landscapes. The focus will be on the ways of governing and making these transformations socially acceptable: bypassing administrative procedures; compensatory measures, opacity of available information. At the same time, it will be a matter of highlighting the landscapes of rubbish and waste in the transformations of the littorals by thinking about the filling of the sea, the displacement of sand and the formation of informal landfills.