As the Center for Civil Society Organizations Application and Research, we organized the "Nature Restoration and Green Space Strategy Panel" today at the Kadıköy Design Workshop in collaboration with the Kadıköy City Council Climate Working Group and the 118-Y Anatolian Side Lions Clubs Federation. The event was attended by university students, municipal officials, and Kadıköy residents.
The panel began with an opening speech by our Center Director, Prof. Dr. Esra Yüksel Acı. In her speech, Yüksel Acı highlighted the horizontal and vertical connections of the Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing the importance of protecting natural world heritage and ensuring access to safe and inclusive green spaces to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
The first speaker of the panel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Melih Birik, a faculty member of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, stressed the necessity of addressing the urban-nature relationship in an interdisciplinary manner. He underlined the importance of incorporating green space corridors into zoning plans in light of the reality of climate change.
Speaking about the importance of green spaces and afforestation in cities, Landscape Architect Kadriye Temircan discussed the benefits of trees and current landscape techniques, providing examples of potential good and bad practices from around the world and Turkey.
Prof. Dr. Ayşe Uyduranoğlu, a faculty member of the Department of Economics at Istanbul Bilgi University, spoke about the importance of green finance for the realization of green space strategies. She highlighted the unique aspects of green finance compared to other financial instruments and noted that even though local administrations do not have taxing authority, they can issue green bonds. She also emphasized the concept of willingness to pay, suggesting that public participation in the financing of green spaces is both feasible and quantifiable.
The panel concluded with a Q&A session.
For detailed information: https://stkam.marmara.edu.tr/event/doganin-onarimi-ve-yesil-alan-stratejisi-paneli-gerceklestirildi
