Two Decades of Planning for Earthquake Resilience in Istanbul

Abstract

This chapter overviews and evaluates resilience planning to earthquakes in Istanbul, including the drivers of action/change, the role of national and international institutions, and the planning process, using the themes of urban resilience as a framework. Planning efforts for mitigating the earthquake risk in Istanbul predate the devastating Marmara Earthquakes of 1999. The devastation caused by the Marmara Earthquakes triggered a paradigm shift for disaster risk response and planning in Turkey. The efficacy of the plans and projects in mitigating Istanbul’s earthquake risk is also questionable, as they share similar shortcomings with the national legislation. The earthquake risk mitigation projects developed in the aftermath of the Marmara Earthquakes in 1999 mostly focused on the built environment, while neglecting and even undermining the natural, social, and institutional systems. The unprecedented social and economic destruction of the Marmara Earthquakes became a defining moment for risk mitigation planning in Turkey, and particularly in Istanbul.