There is confusion about urban transformation, which gained momentum after the February 6 earthquakes that shook Turkey. While citizens do not want their houses to shrink, contractors defend themselves by saying, “Even if the house gets smaller, its value increases.” The fact that apartment residents cannot reach a common decision regarding urban transformation often causes controversy. The increasing construction costs day by day is considered as one of the obstacles to urban transformation. Hakan Şişik, President of the Anatolian Side Construction Contractors Association, states that both the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change are working on new regulations, and says that wrong urban transformation even changes the climate of cities.
LAST DAY 31 DECEMBER
Şişik said, “There are articles in the building inspection law that cause us great trouble. There is a draft on their improvement and we think the ministry will announce the study next month. At the same time, bans on dating hinder us greatly. Not implementing elevations up to 7 floors prevents urban transformation in corner and narrow areas. The validity of this law will expire on December 31, 2024. It is stated that an improvement will be made here as well. “We expect steps to be taken to ease the hands of our colleagues,” he said.
FİKİRTEPE EXAMPLE
“Fikirtepe is a bad example of urban transformation,” said Şişik, “With such high-rise buildings, not only the human density increases, but also causes climate change. Wind currents coming to Kadıköy disappear. For example, they used to not use air conditioning in Göztepe. That The wind flow from the region was stopped, which affected the nature and the structures built there. “Sulukule is a more successful example of urban transformation than Fikirtepe.” he said.
SITUATION OF RISKY BUILDINGS
Real Estate Expert Aycan Fenercioğlu made statements about urban transformation works across Turkey. Emphasizing that the transformation projects, which gained momentum especially after the February 6 earthquakes, should gain even more momentum, Fenercioğlu said, “It is not the earthquake that kills, but the buildings. For this reason, it is necessary to quickly renovate the buildings and make them safe,” he said.
Fenercioğlu stated that urban transformation works continue intensively in cities directly affected by the earthquake, such as Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep and Hatay, and that projects for the renewal of risky buildings are gaining momentum in big cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Referring to the earthquake risk and the importance of transformation works, especially expressed by experts in Istanbul, Fenercioğlu said, “Both citizens and the sector have high expectations in Istanbul. Critical and risky areas of the city need to be transformed as soon as possible. “There are great expectations, the process is progressing, but faster steps must be taken,” he said.
OLD BUILDING STOCKS
Fenercioğlu said, “Urban transformation is an important opportunity to build safer living spaces in cities with old building stocks, such as Izmir. I believe that safer and more modern buildings will be built in Izmir with both state support and the participation of contractors. In this process, steps should be taken to ensure that both sector representatives and citizens can participate in the process safely. By facing the earthquake reality of Turkey, “We must all work together to create a safe and durable building stock,” he said.
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