IBB and TMMOB sign 'urban planning' protocol

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) has signed a "Cooperation Protocol for Healthy Urbanization, Quality Construction, and Protection of Cultural Assets" with the Istanbul branches of professional chambers affiliated with the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB). The signing ceremony took place at the IBB's headquarters in Saraçhane.

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To manage a large city like Istanbul, we need the decades of experience of engineers, architects, urban planners, public health experts, our professional chambers, and NGOs, and we want to manage Istanbul together with them. We must make decisions about Istanbul's future in the light of science and public interest.

Nuri Aslan, IBB Deputy Chairman, signed the protocol on behalf of the municipality, while Ali Ekber Çakar, Chairman of the TMMOB Executive Board, signed for TMMOB. In his address, Aslan emphasized that decisions concerning Istanbul's future must be guided by science and public interest. He highlighted the necessity of leveraging the decades of expertise from engineers, architects, urban planners, public health experts, professional chambers, and NGOs to manage the vast city effectively.

The timing of the protocol signing, shortly after the 27th anniversary of the August 17, 1999 Marmara earthquake, was noted as particularly significant. Aslan recalled the devastating impact of that earthquake, which claimed over 18,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands. He stated, "We paid a very heavy price that night." He reflected on the lessons learned, noting the realization that cities were unprepared for earthquakes and that negligence, rather than the quakes themselves, caused fatalities. Aslan added that insufficient lessons were learned, as evidenced by the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes on February 6, 2023.

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We paid a very heavy price that night. We lost more than 18,000 citizens, and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced. The material and spiritual scars, traumas, losses, and pain of the earthquake have always remained fresh.

Aslan also shared a personal connection, revealing that his own family experienced significant loss during the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, having lost his grandfather and having a grandmother who was disabled after being trapped in the rubble. He stressed that his perspective as an administrator is informed by his personal understanding of earthquake devastation. "Our greatest responsibility today towards Istanbul is to prepare Istanbul for disasters, and our duty is to prepare Istanbul for disasters," he asserted.

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We saw that our cities were not ready for earthquakes, and we saw that negligence, not the earthquake, took lives. We saw that laws and regulations were insufficient. However, we did not fully learn enough lessons from that day, as we saw in the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes centered in February 6, 2023. We are still trying to heal our wounds.

He outlined the path forward for creating a disaster-resilient Istanbul, emphasizing planned urbanization, reliance on science, collective wisdom, and entrusting tasks to experts. The protocol aims to foster collaboration between the municipality and professional bodies to address critical urban planning and construction issues, ensuring a safer and more sustainable future for the city.

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I am the child of a family that knows what an earthquake is. I am the grandchild of a grandmother who lost her grandfather in the 1939 Erzincan earthquake and was disabled after her leg was broken when she was trapped under the rubble in the same earthquake. Therefore, I am not just speaking here today as an administrator. I am also speaking as a human being, as a child, and as a grandchild. And I know very well; our greatest responsibility today towards Istanbul is to prepare Istanbul for disasters, and our duty is to prepare Istanbul for disasters.