Our sins when it comes to maintaining our cities
We have a characteristic that ruins, renders ugly, complicates and transforms what is beautiful and exemplary into a bad example in a very short time.
Alaçatı has been on the news recently.
There is a fight that Fatih Terim (the director of Turkish Football federation) has been involved in and the news is out there now with its diverse details.
The fact that a person who is the head of the national team and is treated with great respect in a country where football is loved so much can be involved in such an incident is a scandal anywhere in the world.
Anyway, this topic was submitted to the court, who will decide on it.
However, this event harmed Alaçatı’s image and perception so much.
Our colleagues are now castigating Çeşme and Alaçatı.
They have many reasons to be right.
Çeşme is no longer what it used to be in our childhood; and it will never be like that anymore.
But I ask; which of our holiday villages have we preserved? To what degree have we succeeded in making our cities compete with its rivals? You can’t show one.
You have seen Istanbul’s situation…
All right; one week’s rain pour down in one hour.
All right; this is a disaster…
All right; wherever you are to see this much rainpour, you will see images close to the ones you witnessed in Istanbul.
However we need to ask this question:
Who is responsible for all this—only the politicians, the mayors? Don’t we have any sins as citizens?
Our endless love for construction, an endless lure for rent…
It was clear that it would explode like that.
Our main question is this…
What will we do after that? Will we learn lessons or will our appetite for rent continue?
Let’s not forget the full side of the glass.
We have written about it many times; talked about it many times.
I wrote countless articles to send the message that we should not make İzmir like Istanbul.
I am tired of repeating it so many times: let’s at least protect Çeşme and Alaçatı. But how can we do it?
Capital is circulating and it is looking for its next destination when Istanbul is over; it could be İzmir, or Antalya, maybe another location…
However, all this capital will go somewhere in the end.
This is what has been emphasized all the time.
In that case; no concessions should be made from (urban) plans; there should be no compromise to maintain the city as it is.
Of course, there are some shortcomings and errors; but let’s accept that even Alaçatı is one of the best examples in Turkey with its special architecture.
When everyone speaks of Alaçatı, they want to go for holiday there. Its chemistry has been disrupted, its costs have increased and capital has flown in.
True; there are many things on the empty side of the glass…
Rents, restaurant costs and the over crowdedness, the noise…
We are writing about all of this.
However, don’t forget the full side of the glass.
Let’s look at how we can overcome the shortcomings, correct the mistakes.
(HH Don’t forget this slogan.
One criticizes the ones they love harder.
It is one of the reasons why I have been harder on my critics lately about İzmir, Çeşme and Alaçatı.
They want to preserve İzmir, they don’t want İzmir to be over crowded, plundered and a victim of rent costs.
The starting point of this process is strategy.
There is a slogan by the İzmir Tourism Foundation, which I love—
“A lively city, a livable city…”
Let’s do what we have to do without forgetting this slogan.