Informal Settlements, Environmental Degradation, and Disaster Vulnerability · the Turkey Case Study

The papers in this report have been grouped around four main topics: a general framework and specific topics; urban vulnerability issues; the formal and informal city; and earthquakes, including the Erzincan disaster. The general framework section discusses the vulnerability of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Erzincan. It provides a background on the physical characteristics of the four cities and examines the history of urban development, the impact of human interventions on the environment, the severity of environmental threats, the evolution of environmental policies through legislation and regulations, and summarizes recommendations and policy options. Urban vulnerability to earthquakes is discussed in very specific terms, quantifying expected casualty levels and predicting levels of home loss within the area under study. The section of formal and informal cities contrasts the areas which are currently subject to governmental action and emergency preparedness measures with the stark realities of unplanned and unregulated development. Solid waste problem, urban environmental degradation and destructive impacts or urban expansion, tourist zone development and shipping accidents on fragile coastal areas are also addressed.