Slum turned into ’mega city’ awaits inhabitants
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Aslı Sağlam
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 27, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - It's hard to recognize the neighborhood of Esenyurt. Having become known as the most wrecked and impoverished areas of Istanbul, the district has been turned into a city. Mayor Necmi Kadıoğlu says there are many projects on the way but they have already achieved what seemed like an impossible task as recently as five years ago
With more and more people, not only from other parts of Turkey but from all over the world, migrating to Istanbul, the city’s swelling slum areas increasingly need more municipal investment to improve facilities.
Considered as one of the biggest slums in Turkey, Istanbul’s Esenyurt has been undergoing a significant and welcome transformation. Esenyurt’s population started growing after the Roma population, along with Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants, settled there during the 1930s. The district has a population of 375,000. Construction companies, housing companies, fashion labels, pastry shops and interior design brands have invested in the wasted land to save it and turn it into a place that is inhabitable.
Esentepe’s mayor, Necmi Kadıoğlu, took the stage on Tuesday to promote what they had done in the last five years for the district, which has long been hidden in the city’s background. "We have gained the fastest developing and expanding district. There were no hospitals, now it has one of the most modern hospitals in Turkey. We opened 75 schools. And according to our plan the population will reach 650,000 in a few years," Kadıoğlu said proudly.
A stadium, which can host 5,000 spectators, Esenyurt State Hospital, with a 230-bed capacity, Şehitler Park, designed after rehabilitating and cleaning the garbage, a rehabilitation center for disabled persons, İnönü, Yenikent and Saadetdere culture centers, Şirinler Kindergarden, overpasses, health care centers, streets and fountains are now serving the public in Esenyurt.
Calling it an "urban transition" instead of "urban transformation," Kadıoğlu said Turkey’s biggest slum was transited into a district. The level of crime was also high but with the latest enlargement and progress those levels decreased noticeably. The area, controlled and secured by the gendarmerie, will be handed over to the Esenyurt police.
Faultlines
"Istanbul is an earthquake region as everyone knows. The housing in Esenyurt have been built using the latest technology and developments. When you look at the paper you see that two out of four advertised houses are in Esenyurt. The slum areas have turned into what we call a modern city, but there are still some companies that don’t use the name of the district in their advertisements. Soon it’s going to be a brand," said Kadıoğlu, who called for more investors and industrialists to invest in the district.
Esenyurt municipality worked hard and collaborated with big companies for the "urban transition." The infrastructure work is continuing, while decisions such as bringing a metrobus line to the district, investing more in culture and arts and starting construction on an entrance to the E-6 highway in Esenyurt have begun.
Noting once again that the municipality, which has been stable since 2004, has turned Esenturt from a mega village into a mega city. Kadıoğlu told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that he has been traveling abroad often and it gives him ideas on what to establish in a newly developing district. Akkoza / Garanti Akkoza Ğ Akiş, Ender Holding, Horoz Shipping Company, Kapital Factoring, Kervan Çeyiz, Kiler Group, LC Waikiki Ğ Tema Group, Koroza Ambalaj, Milpark / Hürriyet Marketing, Modernist / Yeşil Construction, Pelit Pastry, Regnum, Saray Carpets, Vakko and Yeni İlaç are the companies that invested in the district. Besides these firms, the talks over some other facilities and housing projects have been going on.
Considered as one of the biggest slums in Turkey, Istanbul’s Esenyurt has been undergoing a significant and welcome transformation. Esenyurt’s population started growing after the Roma population, along with Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants, settled there during the 1930s. The district has a population of 375,000. Construction companies, housing companies, fashion labels, pastry shops and interior design brands have invested in the wasted land to save it and turn it into a place that is inhabitable.
Esentepe’s mayor, Necmi Kadıoğlu, took the stage on Tuesday to promote what they had done in the last five years for the district, which has long been hidden in the city’s background. "We have gained the fastest developing and expanding district. There were no hospitals, now it has one of the most modern hospitals in Turkey. We opened 75 schools. And according to our plan the population will reach 650,000 in a few years," Kadıoğlu said proudly.
A stadium, which can host 5,000 spectators, Esenyurt State Hospital, with a 230-bed capacity, Şehitler Park, designed after rehabilitating and cleaning the garbage, a rehabilitation center for disabled persons, İnönü, Yenikent and Saadetdere culture centers, Şirinler Kindergarden, overpasses, health care centers, streets and fountains are now serving the public in Esenyurt.
Calling it an "urban transition" instead of "urban transformation," Kadıoğlu said Turkey’s biggest slum was transited into a district. The level of crime was also high but with the latest enlargement and progress those levels decreased noticeably. The area, controlled and secured by the gendarmerie, will be handed over to the Esenyurt police.
Faultlines
"Istanbul is an earthquake region as everyone knows. The housing in Esenyurt have been built using the latest technology and developments. When you look at the paper you see that two out of four advertised houses are in Esenyurt. The slum areas have turned into what we call a modern city, but there are still some companies that don’t use the name of the district in their advertisements. Soon it’s going to be a brand," said Kadıoğlu, who called for more investors and industrialists to invest in the district.
Esenyurt municipality worked hard and collaborated with big companies for the "urban transition." The infrastructure work is continuing, while decisions such as bringing a metrobus line to the district, investing more in culture and arts and starting construction on an entrance to the E-6 highway in Esenyurt have begun.
Noting once again that the municipality, which has been stable since 2004, has turned Esenturt from a mega village into a mega city. Kadıoğlu told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review that he has been traveling abroad often and it gives him ideas on what to establish in a newly developing district. Akkoza / Garanti Akkoza Ğ Akiş, Ender Holding, Horoz Shipping Company, Kapital Factoring, Kervan Çeyiz, Kiler Group, LC Waikiki Ğ Tema Group, Koroza Ambalaj, Milpark / Hürriyet Marketing, Modernist / Yeşil Construction, Pelit Pastry, Regnum, Saray Carpets, Vakko and Yeni İlaç are the companies that invested in the district. Besides these firms, the talks over some other facilities and housing projects have been going on.