Turkey & Syria after the Earthquakes: Long-Term Recovery 2: Building Back Better

This presentation will start at 10am ET/ 17:00 GMT + 3. Doors will open for in-person attendance at 9:30am ET/ 16:30 GMT+3.

The 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that hit Southeastern Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023, officially took an estimated 60,000 lives. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed in cities such as Kahramanmaraş, Adiyaman, and Hatay, with more than 160,000 collapsed or severely damaged buildings. The humanitarian crisis facing the region presents urgent aid and disaster relief challenges as well as concerns for long-term, safe, sustainable, and resilient rebuilding efforts.

"Turkey and Syria After the Earthquakes" is a series of four panel discussions curated by CARRRE (Collective Action for Readiness, Recovery, and Resilience), a collective of U.S.-based Turkish-American architects and academics. CARRRE aims to amplify awareness among a global audience regarding the catastrophic repercussions of these earthquakes, and to provide agency to architects, planners, engineers, municipalities, and builders on the ground by assisting with local relief efforts, sharing professional expertise, and aiding in the development of long-term rebuilding strategies. These panels aim to provide an international platform for learning, debate, and actionable projects.

“Long-Term Recovery (2): Building Back Better” is the fourth panel in CARRRE’s discussion series. This panel will examine the challenges and opportunities that arise in connection with the long-term, municipal-level planning initiatives and resilient rebuilding of cities and communities in post-earthquake areas. The speakers will address conventional post-disaster planning strategies and building techniques, engineering seismology and hazard assessment, and focus on alternative approaches developed for Turkey and other countries.

Key topics include:

• Interplay between natural disasters and sustainable development in communities.
• Consideration of long-term post-earthquake planning guidelines and methodologies and sustainable urban and economic development in communities.
• Concepts of seismic evaluation, design, and retrofit of existing buildings and infrastructure in regions of repetitive earthquakes.
• Basic principles of regeneration projects which incorporate an overriding urban development vision, political commitment, and willingness to implement binding and structural measures.

Introduction:
Mustafa Abadan, FAIA, Design Partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP; Founding Partner, Turkish Philanthropy Funds

Speakers:
Prof. Ayşegül Askan, Engineer; Executive Board Member, Earthquake Engineering Association of Turkey (EEAT); Prof. at Middle East Technical University (METU), Dept. of Civil Engineering
Karim Elgendy, Urban Sustainability and Climate Expert; Associate Director, Buro Happold, Associate Fellow, Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs); Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute in D.C.
Dr. Yasuaki Onoda, Architect and Planner; Lecturer at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design; Vice President, Architectural Institute of Japan; 2022 Architectural Institute of Japan Research Award
Ülge Ugurlu, Senior Project Adviser and Local Government Expert, VNG International, International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities

Co-Host:
Salt (Istanbul) 

Organized by:
AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee; AIANY Global Dialogues Committee; AIANY Building Codes Committee; Collective Action for Readiness; Recovery, and Resilience (CARRRE)

Event Start Times by Location:
AIA New York (NYC): doors open 9:30am ET, presentation begins 10:00am ET
Salt Beyoğlu (Istanbul): doors open 4:30pm TRT, presentation begins 5:00pm TRT

The organizers are strongly encouraging that attendees make donations to Turkish Philanthropy Funds in support of the planning and rebuilding efforts. 

If you register for a virtual ticket, you will receive an email with a Zoom link to access the program.