Aspects of Urban Regeneration in Turkey The Zeytinburnu Project

IN WHAT WAYS THE NEED FOR URBAN REGENERATION IS CURRENTLY PERCEIVED IN TURKEY?Urban regeneration has recently beena central issue of consideration, andattempts to regulate this process havemultiplied in Turkey. This may be dueto risks involved, or aspirations ofappropriating rents involved, or simplyfor the sake of appearances. Thereis no uniform undestanding of whatregeneration is.The Law of ‘GreatercityMunicipalities’ (5216; 2004):Prerogatives given to these authoritiesinclude the preparation of ‘StrategicPlans’ which are essentially socioeconomicin nature, besides physical(article 7a). ‘environmental plans’(7b), and plans concerning disasters(7u). Powers to ‘vacate and demolishdangerous buildings, and to ‘demolish allother non-conforming structures’ (7z) arevested with these municipalities. Theyare capable of instituting partnershipswith local municipalities and privatefirms, or establishing firms themselves.They can participate in services andcosts of projects carried out with public,private bodies or NGOs (24n), nationalor international. These municipalitiesare also entitled to institute ‘financialorganizations’, and to undertake manyforms of partnerships in comprehensiveregeneration projects (26).The Law of Municipalities (5215;2004):Municipalities are responsible forprotecting natural, historical andcultural assets in their functions of planpreparation. They can exercise powersof compulsory purchase for this purposeand for housing provision; start firms,borrow capital, issue shares and paperassets (68). Municipalities of 50 000 andabove can designate areas (not smallerthan 50 000 m 2 ) for ‘urban regenerationand development projects’ and riskreduction (73). Processes of demolishingor altering existing buildings under thispretext are subject only to 0.25 of regularduties. Voluntary agreements withproperty owners are the preferred methodin regeneration projects. This doesnot however exclude the prerogativesof exercising compulsory purchase.Disagreements have priority to othercases in the courts.The Law Concerning the NorthernEntry to Ankara (5104; 2004)This special Law aims to improve theappearances and ‘life standards’ of adelineated project area. The GreaterMunicipality of Ankara is responsible forthe preparation of a plan (1/5000), subjectto the approval of the Ministry. Allpublic and private property is subject tocompulsory purchase. This is preferablycarried out with mutual agreementsbetween property owners and theMunicipality. An inventory of propertyowners entitled to specific shares inprospective property is to record the size,development type, and the legal status ofcurrent property. This provides optionsfor individuals (tenants included), anddescribes a programme of payments, thevalue of the existing property deducedfrom total debt. The non-conformingproperty owners are subject to the specialprocedures of the Compulsory PurchaseLaw (2942, article 3), empowering themunicipality to distribute payments upto 5 years. The Greater Municipalityof Ankara is entitled to have access tocredits of the Housing Administration.The Draft Development Law:The intended Law empowers themunicipalities in the designation ofseveral types of special planning areasfor the purposes of implementing projectsconcerning protection, regeneration,intensive development, and public and/orprivate investments. Municipalities areobliged to carry out mitigation plansto reduce disaster risks, if ignored, theMinistry could use its prerogatives. Theyare entitled to determine the location andsize of areas for such operations, prepareplans and projects. The municipality orthe majority of the property owners inan area could form partnerships for theredevelopment and/or joint managementof the area. Besides physical operations ofclearance, development, protection, suchprojects are envisaged to cover policiesof finance, management, ownership andmeans of socio-economic development.The tools for such operations aredetermined by the municipalities, whichare entitled to 30% of the property valuesand 25% of building surface increasesgenerated. “Protecting the rights ofthe original owners, the municipalitiesin these areas could carry out leaseagreements, servitudes, comprehensiveproject development, tendering forconstruction, supervision, arrangingshares according to the Flat OwnershipLaw, management organizations, etc....and demolish existing buildings avoidingpublic purchase” Such property will beexempt from sales and purchase taxes for5 years, and VAT will be applicable at therate of 1%.The Draft Law of Urban Regenerationand Development:Still another draft law is currently underreview in the Parliamentary Committee.This has almost identical wording withthe Law of Municipalities, reducing onlythe regeneration area to 10 000 m 2 , andallowing a phased implementation. Thedraft law provides absolute powers to themunicipalities not only in the preparationof plans and projects, but also in theappropriation of all property, and thearrangement of rights of developmentand use, even in the cases of absenteeownership.Action Preferred by the MetropolitanMunicipality of Istanbul (MMI):Disturbed by the earthquake lossassessments, the MMI intends to carry outsurveys of the existing stock, identifyingbuildings destined to collapse. Theresidents of such buildings will be eligiblefor the option of owning a new ‘safe andhigh quality’ dwelling elsewhere in thenew development areas of metropolitanIstanbul. These households will then beliable to pay back a long-term (20-30years) credit debt. Concurrently, MMIis to undertake a building programmewith resources provided by the HousingAdministration of Turkey. Distributedto various subdistricts in groups, it isclaimed that pilot implementationstotaling twenty thousand dwelling unitswill be completed in two years. Thisis said to correspond to an investmentprogramme of 2 billion US Dollars.Pointing to the fact that 70% of theIstanbul stock of one million buildingsis unauthorised, the Mayor demandedfree access to Treasury lands in order toaccomplish the total ‘survival project’.Although there are multiple attempts toregulate urban regeneration processesin Turkey, there is little real worldexperience or finely detailed projectsbased on authentic circumstances.One exception has been the case ofZeytinburnu, a most vulnerable districtin Istanbul in the face of the impendingearthquake.