Turkey & Syria after the Earthquakes: Hatay Planning Center Report

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 across 11 provinces were destroyed in cities such as Kahramanmaraş, Adiyaman, and Hatay, with more than 500,000 collapsed or severely damaged buildings and more than 2 million people displaced. 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 panel discussions curated by CARRRE (Collective Action for Readiness, Recovery, and Resilience), a collective of U.S.-based architects and academics with deep ties to Turkey. CARRRE aims to amplify awareness among a global audience regarding the catastrophic repercussions of the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaras 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.

“Hatay Planning Center Report: Recovery and Reconstruction” is the fifth panel in CARRRE’s discussion series. In the aftermath of the destruction, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality joined with the Hatay Metropolitan Muncipality to form the Hatay Planlama Merkezi (the Hatay Planning Center) to address the recovery and reconstruction processes of the province of Hatay, one of the provinces most damaged by the earthquakes. The report examines the challenges and opportunities that arise in connection with the long-term, municipal-level planning initiatives and resilient rebuilding of cities and communities, created with input from administrations, universities, national and international institutions, experts, professional organizations, non-governmental components, volunteers and most importantly, the people of Hatay. The expert panelists who will respond to the report will address post-disaster planning strategies and building techniques, engineering seismology and hazard assessment, and focus on alternative approaches developed for Turkey and other countries.

Speakers:
Hatay Planning Center Presentation:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Beyza Taşkın, Structural Engineer, Istanbul Technical University (ITU)
Prof. Dr. Okan Tüysüz, Geological Engineer and Advisor in the oil and energy industry, research professional in tectonics, ITU
Prof. Dr. Himmet Karaman, Geomatics Engineer; Professor skilled in Disaster Management, Resilience, ArcGIS Products, Spatial Analysis, Land Surveying, and Earthquake Engineering, ITU
Gürkan Akgün, Deputy Secretary-General and Head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Department of Housing and Urbanization

Panelists:
Dr. Şafak Arslantürkoglu, Structural Engineer, Staff of Professorship for Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH); PhD Thesis "Risk-based Seismic Assessment of Existing Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Switzerland"
Dr. Nikola Blagojevic, Civil Engineer, Staff of Professorship for Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, ETH; Developer, iRe-CoDeS framework for probabilistic resilience-based design of the built environment
Maria Carrizosa, Architect, Senior Urban Planner, Climate Resilience Expert Miyamoto; Co-founder, urbanSEED, interdisciplinary design and planning action tank, and BUILDING LOCAL, an organization dedicated to the aesthetic and tectonic study of local building practices
Dr. Yun Fu, Architect and Design Critic, Urban Planning and Design, Harvard Graduate School of Design; Partner, Semester Studio (recipient of the 2020 Rome Prize)
Maulin Mehta, Regional Plan Association, New York Director

Event Start Times by Location:
AIA New York (NYC): 9:00 AM EST
Salt Beyoğlu (Istanbul): 5:00 PM GMT

Co-Host:
Salt (Istanbul)

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.