Ministry establishes urban transformation body

ANKARA

In a move aimed at enhancing the resilience of Türkiye's building infrastructure, the Urban Transformation Directorate has been officially established under the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry.

The decision, published in the Official Gazette on Oct. 16, led to the creation of three distinct bodies: The General Directorate of Urban Transformation, the General Directorate of Marmara Urban Transformation and the General Directorate of Real Estate and Resource Development.

The General Directorate of Urban Transformation will concentrate on urban renewal initiatives in regions outside of Marmara. The strategic division follows concerns over seismic activity and excess building stock.

The region with over 26.6 million residents that last suffered heavy damage from the 1999 earthquakes is on edge, according to repeated warnings by experts about the expected quake.

The General Directorate of Real Estate and Resource Development, for its part, will be responsible for scanning, planning, valuation and development of real estate properties. Additionally, the directorate will identify unregistered areas nationwide and register them under the treasury's name, thereby generating resources crucial for funding urban transformation projects.

Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Mehmet Özhaseki expressed his optimism about the newly established institution on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

"With the model we have developed, we will prepare strong cities without creating a financial burden on the treasury," he wrote. "With the new regulations, we will hopefully make our country more resilient to disasters, especially earthquakes."