New urban transformation law brings concerns

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary General and Urban Planner Dr. Buğra Gökçe stated that the new urban transformation law harbors a number of concerns.

Gökçe said, ''Our citizens have anxieties and concerns about the new urban transformation law. Our people think that their homes will be seized and that it will turn into urban exile.''

''THE LAW'S IMPLEMENTATION RECORD IS NOT ENCOURAGING''

Speaking about the implementation of the law, Gökçe said, ''The Urban Transformation Law came into effect in 2012. According to the TBMM report, 2 million 200 thousand independent units have been transformed to date. However, the number of independent units that need to be transformed is 3 times that. At the current speed, it would take 35 years to transform 6 million structures.

 We see that since the date Law No. 6306 came into effect in Istanbul, 69 Risky Areas, 152 Reserve Building Areas, and approximately 84,000 Risky Buildings have been declared. There are 1 million 200 thousand buildings in Istanbul. 800 thousand of these were built before the year 2000. The number of buildings transformed in 11 years is only 84 thousand. Why? Because the 10-year implementation record of Law No. 6306 is not encouraging,'' he stated.

''CITIZENS DO NOT TRUST THE CURRENT LAW''

Gökçe said, ''The urban transformation law was not implemented in accordance with its purpose; it was used as a tool to transfer rent to individuals, persons, groups, and factions through methods such as opening green spaces and military areas to zoning. Due to the rent-focused approach to urban transformation, urban exiles were created in metropolitan cities, especially in Istanbul. Looking at this picture, citizens are also worried about the expansion of the definition of Reserve Area to include inhabited areas. For this reason, citizens do not trust the current law. They say the government will seize my home and exile me to the outskirts of the city.''

Evaluating the law, Gökçe listed the shortcomings as follows:

• It does not include a method prior to the assessment to be made according to 6306, nor does it grade the risk, unlike the rapid screening method we developed and tested,  
• It ignores tenants and does not introduce any regulations regarding tenants,  
• It does not contain any regulations regarding the partial strengthening of structures or strengthening through innovative methods,
• It neglects the issue of rebuilding and strengthening structures with building registration certificates, leaving it unresolved, 
• It does not address the shortcomings regarding the renovation of cultural assets and how these buildings will be revived, repaired, strengthened, and how they will remain standing in the face of earthquake risk,   
• It has no say regarding the fate of the building stocks where risky buildings are most concentrated, and especially illegal structures, 

Furthermore, it is understood that according to the proposal, the identification and evacuation of risky buildings raise concerns among owners that their property will be seized.

''OUR CITIES ARE STILL WAITING TO GAIN RESILIENCE AGAINST EARTHQUAKES''

Emphasizing rent transfer, Gökçe said, ''Yet, encouraging and persuading citizens in all processes is the healthiest way. The law should have been made in a participatory, transparent, city- and human-oriented manner that includes the knowledge, experience, and capability of local governments, and does not position the central government as the sole actor.

Unfortunately, in its current form, the law cannot go beyond being a new instrument for producing luxury housing and transferring urban rent. Our cities, on the other hand, are still waiting to gain resilience against earthquakes and disasters.'' he stated.

News Source: 12punto