How do we say future? This question sparked rich discussions in Istanbul during a three-day workshop organized by the AESOP - Association of European Schools of Planning Thematic Group Urban Futures and Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts.
Planners play a crucial role in co-shaping urban futures through transformative actions that address today’s rapidly evolving needs while safeguarding the needs of future generations. The way we envision and narrate urban futures is shaped by the theoretical concepts, tools, methods and approaches we use, and for what purposes we use them. During this workshop, participants worked in groups to explore the future of Istanbul’s coastline on the historic peninsula, an area with two million inhabitants that faces increasing earthquake and sea level rise risks. This led to bold imaginations of Istanbul’s future, with concepts and pathways to get there that often clash with the current planning system and practices.
Many thanks to our participants for their enthusiasm, engagement, and valuable contributions.
Our mentors and keynote speakers sparked our creativity and pushed us to think beyond conventional boundaries. Thanks to Behiç Ak, Görsev Argın Uz (Marmara Municipalities Union and Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF), evrim kavcar, and Simone Uriartt (UNDP)
It was a pleasure to organize this activity with Melih Birik, Bahar Aksel, Manuel Caldeira, and Peter Ache
Keep an eye for our workshop’s booklet and future events by our thematic group.
In the inspirational words of our keynote speaker Behiç Ak: “We are living the future today. We feel the full weight of yesterday’s postponed problems. We should not enrich ourselves by stealing from future generations. We should move toward designs whose value increases as they age, not as they are renewed.”
