River Valleys

Topography is one of the unique geographical characteristics of any city. There are signifıcant differences between a fiat and a hilly urban area regarding both morphological and ecological aspects. Valleys, hilis, ridges, shores, outskirts, water basins, water canals and other similar formations are not only morphological reflections of topography, but also they are occurrences that shape any city's climate, resistance to natural disasters, togetherness of natural life and urban development.
Valleys, specifically, provide the formation of required wind breeze corridors that function as micro-climatic circulation in an urban area. Moreover, they create natural drainage systems for water resources as well as periodical surface waters (like rain water).

Topography in Istanbul, despite being a quite rich donnee, has always been seen as an obstacle in front of urban development practices, which resulted in a sort of urbanization that has erased topography. Valleys, hills, water basins and other formations have witnessed a generic urban development with a dense and voidless urban tissue.

Isn't it now indispensable to think about topography and to reclaim valleys in order to generate meaningful voids that will function as open green systems? Don't the recent and consecutive natural disasters experienced in Istanbul (like Jethal floods and earthquakes) display the most concrete ground for such a questioning?

We should rescue and reclaim our valleys; not only for creating open public spaces but also for sustaining urban-nature reconciliation. Well the n how to develop a solution that will take topography of a city as an urban design input? W hat kin d of spatial strategies can been developed in order to carry out such an objective? How to regain a valley that has lost its natural characteristics by various structural interventions and that has witnessed a dense settling? This project that is prepared by the project team of 8arti within the scope of Urban Age conferences should be evaluated as an attempt to seek for solutions for such urban problems.