It is not a bad plan in that it reclaims a section of the city mostly forgotten, but, what does Istanbul do with it's immigrants?
June 30, 2013
Istanbul
...“When the Veliefendi Hippodrome (click here) is officially registered as closed to construction, following the 500,000-square-meter Çırpıcı Meadow, this area will total 1 million square meters. This is the biggest open area in Istanbul city center. We will build a park similar to Central Park and significant parks in Europe. This is just the beginning, and our work will continue,” Topbaş told reporters after the fast-breaking dinner in Sultanahmet Square late July 27....
Considering the poor drainage and the desire to invest in a tourist friendly area, the park is a good idea.
Working-class Zeytinburnu is filled with shanties, (click here) or gecekondular. Its maze of streets leads to illegally built brick cottages and many multi-storey apartment buildings with small textile sweatshops on its ground floors. Most of these structures are occupied by migrants from Anatolia working in the manufacturing industry. Zeytinburu’s Maltepe Quarter is one of the city’s major industrial centres, with about 70,000 employees working for its 170 large companies and thousands of smaller businesses.'
June 30, 2013
Istanbul
...“When the Veliefendi Hippodrome (click here) is officially registered as closed to construction, following the 500,000-square-meter Çırpıcı Meadow, this area will total 1 million square meters. This is the biggest open area in Istanbul city center. We will build a park similar to Central Park and significant parks in Europe. This is just the beginning, and our work will continue,” Topbaş told reporters after the fast-breaking dinner in Sultanahmet Square late July 27....
Considering the poor drainage and the desire to invest in a tourist friendly area, the park is a good idea.
Working-class Zeytinburnu is filled with shanties, (click here) or gecekondular. Its maze of streets leads to illegally built brick cottages and many multi-storey apartment buildings with small textile sweatshops on its ground floors. Most of these structures are occupied by migrants from Anatolia working in the manufacturing industry. Zeytinburu’s Maltepe Quarter is one of the city’s major industrial centres, with about 70,000 employees working for its 170 large companies and thousands of smaller businesses.'
Some of these factories are in the neighbourhood of Kazliçeşme, but there are plans to convert it into a more tourist-friendly destination. It is accessible from the airport, and luxury hotels are going up in the area.
Zeytinburnu also suffers from poor drainage systems and the lack of public schools and hospitals. Crime rate and unemployment are also high as literacy rate remains low.
The proposed park area probably houses the immigrants that work for the nearby industrial area. If that housing is removed it will effect both the immigrants and the businesses. The immigrants are most probably working for far less wages than most of the citizens.
I think the park is a sincere solution for this land in Istanbul, but, somewhat further planning has to be considered that will impact the businesses and the immigrants working for them.
Basically, while gentrification will solve the problem of tourism and the park a welcome breath of fresh air to Istanbul, there are still economic impacts hiding in this decision. All those have to be looked at and considered to make this public project a good experience for all the people of Istanbul without sacrificing the dignity of the government.
The proposed park area probably houses the immigrants that work for the nearby industrial area. If that housing is removed it will effect both the immigrants and the businesses. The immigrants are most probably working for far less wages than most of the citizens.
I think the park is a sincere solution for this land in Istanbul, but, somewhat further planning has to be considered that will impact the businesses and the immigrants working for them.
Basically, while gentrification will solve the problem of tourism and the park a welcome breath of fresh air to Istanbul, there are still economic impacts hiding in this decision. All those have to be looked at and considered to make this public project a good experience for all the people of Istanbul without sacrificing the dignity of the government.
