The Interplay between Urban Development, Vulnerability, and Risk Management by Ebru A. Gencer

Author:Ebru A. Gencer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg

3.2 The Development of the Istanbul Metropolitan Area

Istanbul has suffered from major earthquakes several times in its history. There are historical records to mosques and churches collapsing, giant waves forming and ships colliding at the sea, thousands dying and living outdoors from fear or from destruction of earthquakes and following fires.18 The last of these major earthquakes occurred on July 1894. Even though records indicate only 130 casualties in Istanbul, and 500 casualties around Izmit, speculations about potential earthquakes had reached heights after this earthquake, causing Istanbul residents to sleep outdoors for a period of one month (Alkan 1999: 36).

Despite these records, the city’s development shows signs of disregard at the potency of earthquake hazards in the city. This section explores urban planning and development practices that have taken place in the Istanbul metropolitan area, in an attempt to identify their role in the making of the current exposure and vulnerability in the city (Fig. 3.5).

Fig. 3.5Sheltering residents after the 1894 earthquake in Istanbul (Newspaper (Illustration) Courtesy of the national information service for earthquake engineering, EERC, University of California, Berkeley)

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