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September 18, 2025 - GTU Office of Press and Public Relations Young planners take action for Kocaeli’s future by addressing urban resilience against the environmental risks of the Gulf and providing concrete solutions.
The evaluation report of the PLANED Young Planners Workshop, organized in collaboration with Gebze Technical University (GTU), Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, and the Marmara Municipalities Union, has been published. The workshop, held from 16–18 June 2025, brought together young planners, academics, and local government representatives to discuss solutions for enhancing the environmental and spatial resilience of the Kocaeli Gulf. The workshop focused on potential disasters and environmental risks along Kocaeli’s coastal areas, with participants particularly assessing high-risk factors from industrial facilities in the Gulf as well as natural disaster potentials such as earthquakes and floods.
The most notable solutions proposed by the young participants were highlighted as follows: Emergency Corridor: One group of participants proposed extending the emergency evacuation route at the TÜPRAŞ site, which is currently disconnected from the main transport network, along the entire Gulf. This corridor is intended to serve both as an evacuation and logistics route during disasters and as a pedestrian and bicycle path in daily life.
Green Spaces and Accessibility: Another group identified restricted access to the coastline in İzmit city center due to industrial zones and roads. They emphasized that the coastline should be transformed into a publicly-accessible area, with green corridors that preserve ecological balance.
Digital Management and Awareness: The workshop also suggested implementing mobile applications and digital monitoring systems, such as “Gulf Watch,” to track risks and raise public awareness. This would enable citizens to actively report incidents in real time, including disasters and environmental pollution.
These workshop outcomes provide guidance for concrete steps toward a safer, environmentally conscious, and accessible future for Kocaeli. |
