Page 237 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 4

Sezayi Köse - Zeynep Ayan - Ebru Vural
Kübra Özcivan - Yeşim Koçdemir

possibly in the long term should not be ignored. Finally, considering the Maraş
earthquakes in February 2023, the cost of the earthquakes on the economy was
identified as 103.6 billion $ according to the Report of Strategy and Budget
Directorate of the Presidency on 2023 Kahramanmaraş and Hatay Earthquakes
(2023:8). Using such a great resource for making the cities safe and resistant
against earthquakes before the earthquake, instead of using it for eliminating
the post-earthquake damage will ensure convenient use of resources and
prevent the loss of life and property, avoiding the destruction that leads to
social trauma. Bearing in mind the impacts of a possible earthquake that may
occur in İstanbul, the leading city of the financial and service sector of our
country, on human life and gross domestic product as a result of the crisis that
will create on a national scale, it is becoming important to take more radical
measures in urban transformation.
Although the main goal of urban transformation activities in Türkiye,
located in the first degree earthquake zone, is to ensure the construction
of healthy, safe settlements prepared for disasters, addressing the urban
transformation process over the property rights with an approach ignoring
the risk of earthquakes disrupts the progression of this process. The main goal
of the current urban transformation projects being carried out in İstanbul is to
eliminate risky structures and to build disaster-resilient housing, but as a result
of the problems encountered, the transformation processes are blocked.
At various stages of the implementations carried out within the scope of
Law No. 6306, beneficiaries apply to Administrative Courts and request to
cease the operations, and as a result, the decision of “stay of execution” is
taken for urban transformation implementations referring to the principles set
out in the Civil Code and to guarantee ownership under the Constitution. In
certain cases, the decision on “the cancellation of the operation in dispute”
results in the suspension of the projects before completion.
Even though almost all cases filed were finalised with the decision “to
dismiss the action”, there is a loss of time in rebuilding the economic, social
and structural environment taking into account the delays in the realization
of the project during the litigation process, prolongation of the process
in which the beneficiaries return to their new housings again after being a
tenant since they evacuated their properties, and the funds allocated by the
Ministry for rent allowances to the beneficiaries. The Law No. 6306 is based
on “volunteering” as its scope, but it makes the specified areas unprepared
for disasters since the beneficiaries who do not want to participate in urban
transformation in the area, obstruct the implementation of the Law by
applying other legislative principles, and it leads to the aggrivement of the
beneficiaries who reach an agreement and request the immediate completion

226 The Journal of Environment, Urban and Climate