Five years before the climate law

Neither today's climate change nor the "arid landscaping" practices of local governments exist. With the change of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor in the 2019 local elections, the management of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Parks and Gardens also changes. YAYSİS (Green Area Management System) and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's digitalized green space management strategy document are leading to a shift in all paradigms regarding green space management and urban landscaping. Instead of a showcase-oriented landscape that disregards water, cost, and ecology, a strategy that invests in the future is being implemented in Istanbul's landscape. Dr. Ahmet Cemil Tepe was at the center and driving the R&D of this process. He traveled the world for this purpose. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Parks and Gardens Department continues to implement this strategy. It's worth getting to know Dr. Ahmet Cemil Tepe, who is currently the Chairman of the IMM Green Istanbul Fund Projects Commission.         

Knowing Frederick Low Olmsted when he was a high school student…
I was born and raised in a village in Kastamonu, surrounded by nature. I grew up in the city of Thrace until university. I was interested in parks, gardens, and architecture from a very young age. I loved reading and learning new things. I started reading books in high school. The more you read, the more you learn. You develop an understanding of what's happening at a young age. So, I learned about landscape architecture in high school. When I was accepted into the Landscape Architecture Department at Abant İzzet Baysal University, our professor asked, "Did you know about this profession? Did you choose it deliberately?" I told him that even if I had ranked first in Turkey, I would have chosen this department on the University Entrance Exam (ÖSS). I told him I loved the profession and told him about Frederick Low Olmsted. He was surprised. I graduated from university in 2007. Afterward, I started working in the private sector, pursuing both business and graduate studies. I worked for many companies in the private sector, including my own business. It was a valuable experience for me.

The mayor personally interviewed the landscape architect…
When the private sector didn't meet my expectations, I returned to academia. While preparing for my doctorate, and unemployed, a friend asked me, "Would you like to come to Sancaktepe Municipality?" I said, "I'm not a political figure. Even if I did, they wouldn't hire me. I think I was the only person then-Mayor İsmail Erdem interviewed. After the interview, I quickly transitioned to the public sector. Unexpectedly, I became a civil servant thanks to the parks and gardens manager at the time. It was different… You do the work you've learned, and when you do it well, you're given opportunities and it benefits the public. We did a lot of work in Sancaktepe… In the last year I left, we designed and implemented 34 neighborhood parks. Meanwhile, my doctorate was completed.

Grass on the slopes will be removed, seasonal flowers will be reduced and removed, sound barriers will be built, drought-resistant plants will be used…
While working in Sancaktepe, they brought me a detailed section of a highway. A friend of mine working at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality had sent it to us, asking if we could suggest suitable plants for this section. It really caught my attention… I wondered who had come up with this idea. Because, as part of the highway transformation project, the grass and seasonal flowers on the slopes were going to be reduced and removed, and sound barriers were going to be installed. Drought-resistant plants were going to be used. I thought to myself, this is fantastic. So I asked who had suggested these. They said, Professor Dr. Yasin Çağatay Seçkin.

I had the opportunity to meet Professor Çağatay. After chatting with him for a while, we realized we were on the same wavelength and talking about the same things. I immediately transferred to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) and started working as the Haliç Regional Chief. The first thing I saw when I arrived at the IMM was that it's a huge institution, managing 60 million m2 of area and employing nearly 4000 people. However, the monitoring and management of green areas was operating with a very problematic system. Starting in the region and on the ground was very beneficial for me in understanding this large system. Then Professor Çağatay called me to the R&D unit at the headquarters. In the summer of 2020, I moved to Kasımpaşa. Professor Çağatay had a strategic plan that he had started beforehand. According to this plan, green areas were living spaces, living spaces that also affected the wildlife living in the city, an ecological corridor, the city's climate... He said we needed to put these into a framework and explain them. Thus, intermediate brands were created: Green Istanbul, Wild Istanbul, Play Istanbul. I was now the head of the R&D team that prepared this strategy. We have now begun researching how the problems in green spaces have been solved around the world.

World examples…
For example, while researching the conservancy system in Central Park in America, we were looking at how vandalism in parks, a major problem in every country, had solved it. On the other hand, we were trying to learn about sponge city planning from China. We closely examined the best practices by directly meeting with the authorities. We were doing all of this with resources provided by international organizations. These international researches later led us to establish the international funding projects commission.

Algorithms that can see the impact of green spaces on users…
We completed the YAYSIS Green Area Management System Strategy Document, which measures and digitizes all green areas and includes strategies targeting 2050. We implemented the actions in the Game Istanbul master plan. Green areas were moving towards a point where they have a high social impact and valuable ecological value. We started to move forward with algorithms that prioritize biodiversity and ecosystem services, and that don't just look at green areas in terms of square meters, but also consider their impact on the user, creating examples that can compete with the world. While preparing these scientifically, we had focus groups and our professors from the university contributed. Everything was done with collective intelligence. When we started doing these things, both political and economic pressures emerged. The state of the country is also clear. Beyond that, there is nothing more difficult than changing the established order.

If you have a vision, fund projects can be implemented…
My primary focus right now is national and international funding projects. Thanks to the strategic planning we've developed, we've submitted 52 applications since 2020. Currently, we've secured €8.5 million in grants for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). However, I see these efforts as a matter of vision, rather than just the money we earn. Because when researching funding projects, you engage with the United Nations and the European Union. You can closely examine the world's best practices and make comparisons. For example, we apply for projects around climate, water, sustainability, circular economy, and positive energy zones. We're currently implementing eight projects within this framework. Four of the eight projects we're implementing are among the EU's largest. These are the EU Horizon Europe Projects, also known as Horizon Europe. We've institutionalized European Union projects. For the first time, we've established a European Union Commission within a department within the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). I continue as the commission's president.

There is no management system for green areas
Ülkemizde en büyük sorun yerel yönetimlerin yeşil alan yönetim sistemlerinin olmaması. Evet, yeşil alanların yönetimine yönelik bir sistem yok. Yeşil alanların yönetimleriyle ilgili gelişmiş hangi şehre bakarsan bak bir sistem var, strateji var ve o strateji uzun soluklu ve her gelen bir stratejiyle gelmiyor, aynı stratejiyi sürdürüyor. Dünyada yeşil alanlarla ilgili bütün çalışmalar uzun vadeli planlarla yürütülüyor. Örneğin New York, en son ağaçlandırma master planı 10 yıllıktı. New York gibi, İstanbul’dan çok daha dezavantajlı bir bölgede, ağaç master planını yapılıyor. Projeksiyon olarak iklime dayanıklı ağaçları seçmişler, nereye dikileceklerini, yapılacak bakım ve karbon tutma kapasitelerine kadar bir sistem geliştirmişler. Ve bunu o kadar basit bir sistemde yapmışlar ki, dijital ortamda izleyebiliyorsun. Avrupa şehirlerinde de benzer birçok örnek var. Bence İstanbul fırsatlarla dolu 560 km kıyı bandı olan iki yarımadadan oluşan halen %44 ü orman olan bir coğrafya. Mavi yeşil altyapı sistemlerini doğru kurguladığınız zaman yeşil alanları şehirleşmenin iyi bir aracı olarak gördüğünüzde işler çok daha güzelleşebilir.