Our “Urbanization and Istanbul” Event Held!

Our event titled “Urbanization and Istanbul,” organized by the Bahçeşehir University Migration and Urban Studies Center (BAUMUS), took place on 21 December at the Istanbul Planning Agency (IPA).

Moderated by BAUMUS Founding Director Prof. Dr. Ulaş Sunata, the event began with Prof. Dr. Ahmet Özer's talk “City and Urbanization.” Explaining urbanization through an analytical lens, Prof. Dr. Özer discussed urban developments from 1923 to the present and concluded his talk with examples from the urbanization experiences of Turkish citizens.

Next, under the title “City and Pandemic,” Prof. Dr. Ulaş Sunata emphasized that migration and the pandemic have changed our lives in every respect and that migration in particular can be viewed positively. Adding that the city offers us many opportunities and accessible public services, she underlined that with the pandemic, service conditions changed just as our lives did. Many services came to our homes, education continued remotely and working arrangements were updated. In addition, people's employment conditions in working life also changed after the pandemic.

In his talk titled “City and Art,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bülent Sezgin said that culture is the fundamental structure that makes up a city. He emphasized that a city like Istanbul has a multicultural society and that this cultural diversity should be reflected in art. Stating that major changes also occurred in the field of art as the pandemic entered our lives, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sezgin argued that the pandemic gave rise to a need for both art and social solidarity. Finally, he stressed that cultural and artistic opportunities accessible to everyone should be increased.

Our final speaker, IPA Secretary General Oktay Kargül, discussed urban planning between 1900 and 2009 in his talk titled “City and Planning.” He stated that the urban planning of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) changed with Ekrem İmamoğlu becoming mayor. He said that this change was made with all components of the city, after needs analyses were completed. He concluded his talk by discussing IMM's Vision 2050 strategy.

We thank the speakers and all participants of the event, which concluded with a highly interactive Q&A session!