Izmir needs to think big to become a global city
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Radikal
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 02, 2009 00:00
İzmir can be an economic "metropolitan basin," a city of cities, through its educational institutions, human capital, history and multi-dimensional identity. As a city suitable for change culturally and geographically, İzmir does not have any excuses Ğ it just needs to think big
İzmir is a city that has always been connected to the outer world by its port status. It is a city of universities, a historical landmark, a place with potential for economic dynamism, a city that has the best potential in Turkey for a cultural economy to develop. It ranks 14th for habitability and third for competition, according to research published by Radikal.
Aziz Kocaoğlu, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality mayor, described the city as extremely suitable for change, culturally and geographically lucky. İzmir is a trade city with ties to European and non-European countries because of the Levantine, eastern Mediterranean, scene that guides trading.
Ali Ekber Yıldırım, İzmir representative of the daily Dünya, said İzmir has a structure that is open to globalization and indicated that, especially after the 1990s, agriculture-dependant industry was replaced by technology and labor-intensive industry investment, as research and development work moved in that direction. İzmir’s state universities, Aegean University’s Science-Technology Practice and Research Center, or EBİLTEM, for example, foundation universities and the İzmir Institute of Technology all support that.
Ekrem Demirtaş, president of the İzmir Chamber of Commerce, or İZTO, said İzmir is exporting goods to 185 countries but he placed more importance on the manufacturing of products with added value. Demirtaş said they were aware of the need for sectors based on knowledge, and research and development and they have been fastening work toward those areas.
Europeaness first!
Yıldırım said globalization and Europeanization are mixed together in İzmir and in an article in September 2007 he wrote Europeanization is keeping globalization in the background because European Union countries are the most important market for İzmir’s automotive industry and other products. He said İzmir has the atmosphere of a European city with its culture and lifestyle.
Turkish history author Philip Mansel said İzmir has always been a city of churches, synagogues and mosques, impressing Europeans with the religious freedom it houses. Thanks to that, the city has never been a stranger to the dynamics of Europeanization. On the contrary, it has inspired European cities and writers with its understanding based on religious freedom and cultural configuration. In that sense, İzmir is an extremely attractive city to foreign investors and the number of business fairs cannot be denied. For these reasons, the local elections in İzmir mostly focused on "lifestyles."
Because of its free trade zone, organized industry zones, and air and seaports, İzmir may be the capital of the Aegean region and it is certainly a candidate to become a metropolitan basin. This means cooperation and the division of labor between neighboring cities is moving toward localization, but with a tendency for İzmir to be the leader. As Yıldırım said, for example, leather is being reprocessed in Uşak, cotton is being bought from Aydın for use in textile products, and those products are traded through İzmir, which shows the potential to be a corridor city that would provide technology, informatics and infrastructure services to others. All these qualities put İzmir at the third place in the area of competition, behind Istanbul and Ankara. İzmir aims to become a globally recognized brand and has the vision of growing into a global city.
The most important attempts in that sense are housing international organizations such as Universiade or Efes Cup. The goal to hold EXPO 2015 is the best example. Although the project became a national one instead of a local attempt, it did not happen. İzmir has a serious water problem to solve but today’s main problem is the economy and the global economic crisis. The economic crisis is hurting İzmir as it does to every other city.
Enliven markets
İZTO’s Demirtaş made a press announcement March 4 and said they expect Ankara to enliven the markets, support employment and protect competition. Other cities’ chambers of commerce have similar expectations from the government for emergency means of precaution. He said the Justice and Development Party, or AKP’s, administration should take these into consideration. But more importantly, he said, the AKP should approach Konya and Kayseri through their visions to be world cities as bases of industry, while Eskişehir should be handled as an arts and culture city with higher capacity for habitability and İzmir should be treated according to both its potential to create a regional metropolitan basin on the Aegean coast and its higher habitability through its difference in lifestyles.
İzmir can easily be Turkey’s research and development center through its successful universities, human capital and cosmopolitan, multi-dimensional identity, according to the research. İzmir can be "an economic metropolitan basin." İzmir does not have any excuses. It just needs vision and big thinking. And regardless of the results of the local elections, İzmir should be considered as thus by the government.
Aziz Kocaoğlu, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality mayor, described the city as extremely suitable for change, culturally and geographically lucky. İzmir is a trade city with ties to European and non-European countries because of the Levantine, eastern Mediterranean, scene that guides trading.
Ali Ekber Yıldırım, İzmir representative of the daily Dünya, said İzmir has a structure that is open to globalization and indicated that, especially after the 1990s, agriculture-dependant industry was replaced by technology and labor-intensive industry investment, as research and development work moved in that direction. İzmir’s state universities, Aegean University’s Science-Technology Practice and Research Center, or EBİLTEM, for example, foundation universities and the İzmir Institute of Technology all support that.
Ekrem Demirtaş, president of the İzmir Chamber of Commerce, or İZTO, said İzmir is exporting goods to 185 countries but he placed more importance on the manufacturing of products with added value. Demirtaş said they were aware of the need for sectors based on knowledge, and research and development and they have been fastening work toward those areas.
Europeaness first!
Yıldırım said globalization and Europeanization are mixed together in İzmir and in an article in September 2007 he wrote Europeanization is keeping globalization in the background because European Union countries are the most important market for İzmir’s automotive industry and other products. He said İzmir has the atmosphere of a European city with its culture and lifestyle.
Turkish history author Philip Mansel said İzmir has always been a city of churches, synagogues and mosques, impressing Europeans with the religious freedom it houses. Thanks to that, the city has never been a stranger to the dynamics of Europeanization. On the contrary, it has inspired European cities and writers with its understanding based on religious freedom and cultural configuration. In that sense, İzmir is an extremely attractive city to foreign investors and the number of business fairs cannot be denied. For these reasons, the local elections in İzmir mostly focused on "lifestyles."
Because of its free trade zone, organized industry zones, and air and seaports, İzmir may be the capital of the Aegean region and it is certainly a candidate to become a metropolitan basin. This means cooperation and the division of labor between neighboring cities is moving toward localization, but with a tendency for İzmir to be the leader. As Yıldırım said, for example, leather is being reprocessed in Uşak, cotton is being bought from Aydın for use in textile products, and those products are traded through İzmir, which shows the potential to be a corridor city that would provide technology, informatics and infrastructure services to others. All these qualities put İzmir at the third place in the area of competition, behind Istanbul and Ankara. İzmir aims to become a globally recognized brand and has the vision of growing into a global city.
The most important attempts in that sense are housing international organizations such as Universiade or Efes Cup. The goal to hold EXPO 2015 is the best example. Although the project became a national one instead of a local attempt, it did not happen. İzmir has a serious water problem to solve but today’s main problem is the economy and the global economic crisis. The economic crisis is hurting İzmir as it does to every other city.
Enliven markets
İZTO’s Demirtaş made a press announcement March 4 and said they expect Ankara to enliven the markets, support employment and protect competition. Other cities’ chambers of commerce have similar expectations from the government for emergency means of precaution. He said the Justice and Development Party, or AKP’s, administration should take these into consideration. But more importantly, he said, the AKP should approach Konya and Kayseri through their visions to be world cities as bases of industry, while Eskişehir should be handled as an arts and culture city with higher capacity for habitability and İzmir should be treated according to both its potential to create a regional metropolitan basin on the Aegean coast and its higher habitability through its difference in lifestyles.
İzmir can easily be Turkey’s research and development center through its successful universities, human capital and cosmopolitan, multi-dimensional identity, according to the research. İzmir can be "an economic metropolitan basin." İzmir does not have any excuses. It just needs vision and big thinking. And regardless of the results of the local elections, İzmir should be considered as thus by the government.