President Erdoğan calls on local authorities not to allow vertical settlements

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Nov. 11 called on local authorities to refrain from approving vertical settlement projects across the country.

“I am asking our governors and mayors: Please, do not allow those vertical settlements in our provinces and districts. Horizontal architecture is a basis in our architectural understanding. We have to focus on that,” Erdoğan said.

“We cannot further tolerate the pollution of our provinces with ugly buildings. We should not allow ugly buildings invade our villages and highlands,” he added. 

Last month, Erdoğan had expressed his concern over the rise of vertical architecture across the country, particularly in Istanbul.

“We didn’t appreciate this city. We betrayed Istanbul, and we still are betraying it. I, too, am responsible for this situation,” Erdoğan had stated.