Istanbul Landscape and Tree Inc.

Istanbul Peyzaj ve Ağaç A.Ş. Garden Market preferred imported products.

His choices empowered producers and practitioners close to him. This put him in opposition to other producers. He disrupted the natural course of a nascent industry and led to the uncontrolled growth of some segments within the industry. He favored imported products over domestic ones. Even in retail garden markets, domestic products were hard to find. He demanded the opening of small prayer rooms in nurseries and fields. Even those who did open small prayer rooms couldn't sell their products to Ağaç A.Ş.

There's no known methodological study of green space per capita in Istanbul. District municipalities have some calculations. However, in response to a 2018 question, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Parks, Gardens, and Green Spaces Department announced the green space per capita as 5.89 square meters, including intersections and slopes. Active green spaces are categorized into three categories. First, recreational pocket parks, open green spaces near residences, schools, and workplaces for short periods of time. Essentially, people should be able to spend short periods of time here and walk to their homes, schools, or work, such as Maçka Park and Abbasağa Park. Second, daytime green spaces, namely urban parks, are open green spaces suitable for sports activities, concerts, meetings, and other recreational activities. Their size is determined by population density and the region they serve. While not entirely consistent, these include Göztepe Park on the Anatolian side and Beylikdüzü Yaşam Vadisi on the European side. Third, green spaces on the city's periphery, within 1-2 hours' drive. Areas isolated from the city, such as the Belgrade Forest, cater to both day trips and short-term tourist activities. Green space per capita is calculated based on active green areas that meet these definitions.

Green space per capita in Istanbul…

In Istanbul, if you exclude intersections, slopes, median strips, vertical gardens, and green walls, the green area per capita remains at around 2.30-3 square meters at most. The minimum green area per capita set by the World Health Organization for cities is 9 square meters, and Istanbul's green area falls below this figure. However, it's clear that this figure needs to be raised even higher for sustainable urbanization and human health. According to the "Spatial Plans Construction Regulation," published in 2014, this figure was set at 10 square meters even in Türkiye. Here are some examples from various cities around the world: Vienna: 60 square meters, Stockholm: 90 square meters, Beijing: 88 square meters, New York: 27 square meters, London: 27 square meters, and Amsterdam: 45 square meters. The landscape in other Turkish cities, with a few exceptions, is not very different from Istanbul.

Landscaping investments that failed to win elections…

While Istanbul has 2.30 square meters of usable active green space per person, if you enter the city from the ring roads or one of the main arteries, you'll see cutting-edge landscaping elements at intersections and slopes, and on the walls of sunken exits. They're all vibrant and green. These are vertical gardens, green walls, or flower panels featuring seasonal flowers, exaggerated tulips during tulip season, perennial grasses, sedums, and flowering or green shrub varieties. You'll also see various graphics created with similar species on the green grass along the slopes. They resemble luxurious "paintings." If you've finished your work in Istanbul for the day and returned home, a vibrant Istanbul landscape will be etched in your mind. This landscaping approach has been adopted and implemented in other cities. Looking at the last 15 years, while the amount of green space per capita in Istanbul has been steadily declining, the "success" in Istanbul's landscape has been attributed to the selection and implementation of cutting-edge landscaping elements in public spaces. In defending their choice, park and garden officials from the past always said, "The public loved these projects." These graphic displays of flowers and plants, seen navigating traffic in a city choked with concrete, were occasionally admired. But this acclaim wasn't enough to win the AKP an election.

The city entrance and exit landscape spreading from Istanbul

However, these projects also caught the attention of mayors and park and garden officials visiting Istanbul from other provinces. Upon returning to their cities, they rolled up their sleeves to implement similar projects. By contacting companies with established importers and installers, they ensured the nationwide expansion of these "city-beautifying" projects. Of course, some of these projects included truly affordable solutions with high aesthetic value as urban furniture. However, the same cannot be said for vertical gardens, green walls, and flower panels. Installation of vertical garden panels, which can cost over 1,000 TL per square meter, adds up to significant costs. The construction and maintenance of the grass areas on the slopes also constituted a significant cost. The tenders for maintenance of these projects were even reported in the media.

Istanbul, Landscape and Ornamental Plants Sector

So, who implemented these practices? These practices were carried out by companies and individuals involved in project design, implementation, and the production of ornamental plants and saplings within the Landscape and Ornamental Plants Sector, whose names and descriptions are not widely known. This sector, while often overlooked within the economy, imports $100 million annually and exports that sometimes exceed $100 million. Over the past 15 years, this sector, which relies solely on imports, has grown through production, reaching a point where it exports more than it imports. It continues its path as a new and promising sector within the agricultural segment. Now, our question is: What did the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) and Istanbul Parks and Gardens contribute to this sector with these landscaping choices? The Istanbul Parks and Gardens Department and the Istanbul Municipal Economic Enterprise (Istanbul Peyzaj ve Ağaç A.Ş.), which set out to regulate the sector implementing these practices, had already taken some positive steps about 14-15 years ago in areas such as contract production. They even initiated noise barrier afforestation along ring roads during those years. These were positive examples. However, they were never followed up on, and could not be implemented. With its landscaping choices, it chose to expand its allied producers and practitioners. While this choice benefited them, it also antagonized others. Thus, Ağaç A.Ş. disrupted the natural course of a nascent and growing sector, leading to the uncontrolled growth of some segments. Subsequently, it encouraged imports, favoring imported products over domestic ones. Even in Ağaç A.Ş.'s retail garden market, domestic products were hard to come by. They even encouraged the opening of small prayer rooms in their fields to purchase produce from producers. However, even those who did open small prayer rooms were unable to sell their products to Ağaç A.Ş. Meanwhile, the details of how much money Ağaç A.Ş. allocated to the pro-sector publication it supported will be revealed in the new management's statements. However, with an egalitarian and fair service and product purchasing policy based on quality and product standards, the sector could have truly been regulated. It did not, and it could not. The reason we mention İstanbul Ağaç A.Ş. here is the significant economic growth that emerged as a result of Istanbul's landscaping choices.

What could be done instead of expensive apps?

As the vast majority of public lands were zoned for development due to profiteering pressure, only sink walls, retaining walls, intersections, and slopes remained as areas where landscaping could be implemented without causing problems. However, these projects, other than visual impact, had no significant contribution to the city and its landscape, Istanbul. For example, instead of creating patterned applications with shrubs on the grass, shrubs, trees, and small trees should have been planted on the slopes. As the trees multiply and grow, they could act as noise barriers, absorbing noise and reducing noise levels within the city. Vertical planting with climbing and climbing plants could also have been applied to the retaining walls. They could also have contributed to reducing urban air pollution by capturing airborne particles. Budgets spent on vertical gardens and similar practices should have been used to plant heat-reflecting surfaces, parks, and sidewalks. Istanbul must change its landscape preferences for all these reasons. What I want to emphasize here is that these choices made for Istanbul's landscape, motivated by "innovation and new trends," are an exaggerated spectacle, a dead end. This strategic choice has reduced the amount of green space per capita and has created gaps in Istanbul's landscape that will be difficult to reverse over time. Of course, this means that public resources are not being used appropriately and effectively, leading to waste.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is working on a climate change action plan.

To illustrate the gravity of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) administration's strategic choice regarding Istanbul's landscape, let's look back and forward. The global climate crisis, or climate change... Whatever you call it, it's now the world's most pressing issue. Local governments in Türkiye are just beginning their fight against the climate crisis, but the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization anticipates that 30 metropolitan municipalities will develop climate action plans by 2022. Of course, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is among the seven municipalities that have developed a climate action plan. Climate crisis action plans will inevitably fundamentally change a city's approach to landscaping, parks, gardens, and afforestation. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and its relevant departments should not, at this stage, say, "Climate action plans don't concern me, I'll do what I want." Certain outcomes related to landscaping implementation will become apparent during the climate crisis action planning process. For example, it's known that due to the large amount of reflective surfaces within the city, urban temperatures rise by at least 1 to 2 degrees Celsius, creating the urban heat island effect. The way to mitigate this effect is to equip reflective surfaces with greenery, create rooftop gardens, and plant trees.

İrfan Akgündüz (This article was published in Birgün Newspaper on August 19, 2019)