İzmir takes it slowly while Anatolian cities rush to develop

Businessman Selçuk Yaşar associates the city’s lack of development with the support that was given to the military regime. Noting that İzmir residents supported the junta that came with the coup after Sept. 12, 1980, Yaşar says: “İzmir residents took Kenan [Evren] Pasha’s side. Then industry started to shrink. Almost none of those major companies are around today.”

Dinç Bilgin, the former owner of the Sabah and Yeni Asır dailies, noted that while trying to oppose the ruling power İzmir became a retrogressive and uptight city, explaining that İzmir is actually a city that has been innovative and has achieved many firsts but has come to this position as a result of its reaction to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.

Noting İzmir used to be able to understand the spirit of the times but has lost this ability in recent years, Bilgin said İzmir is acting as if it afraid of change, adding that “İzmir used to have the quality of being a unique leader. It was a city of big changes. It is for this reason that the first attempts at democracy merged in İzmir. Unfortunately, now it has become an extremely conservative city that is closed to innovation and almost afraid of change. Oddly, it has become politicized; it has become neo-nationalist.”

İzmir’s other problem is its resistance to private and public investment. Any time an investment is going to be made, the decision is challenged in court by some civil society organizations or individuals. Either the investment is delayed because of a long legal battle, or the investors just get tired and give up. Some of the best examples of this is the World Trade Center project that has been at a standstill for 11 years, viaducts left to decay at Alsancak Harbor and the process of harbor privatization.

Noting that investments have been delayed in İzmir because of the opposition of certain people and trade associations, former İzmir Mayor Burhan Özfatura said: “There is a group of people who prevent investments from being made based on their political and ideological obsessions. There are many projects that have been stalled. The administrative court also makes rulings in favor of halting investment. Investors are running away, and unemployment is at very high levels.”

Republican People’s Party (CHP) provincial general assembly member Mehmet Arısoy, who believes people should not be afraid of speaking the truth, said: “There is no common understanding. This city cannot make progress. I have travelled to many cities, but I haven’t seen any as poorly managed as İzmir.” Arısoy, whose comments sparked reaction from party supporters, went on to say: “When we compare what İzmir has done over the last 30 years to what other cities have done, we see that it is way behind. It ranks 36th on university entrance exams, 65 percent of its population lives in shanty homes and in general is falling apart. I don’t understand what aspect of İzmir people boast about.”

İzmir Chamber of Commerce (İZTO) Chairman Ekrem Demirtaş said the city wasn’t underdeveloped but was making progress slowly, adding that “Anatolian cities have made great progress in many ways in recent years. They are acting quickly to compensate for the many years of being behind. Development in any part of Turkey gives us great pleasure, but when we compare these cities with İzmir, we see that there is a major difference between the two. We are walking; they are running. There is a long way ahead before İzmir reaches their level.”

Yeni Asır daily Editor-in-Chief Şebnem Bursalı, who is dissatisfied with İzmir’s failure to make use of its potential, noted that economic figures show that İzmir is still Turkey’s third largest city, adding that “the amount of cash loans banks in İzmir extended in the first nine months of 2009 was TL 20.4 billion. That figure was TL 11 billion in Antalya and TL 10 billion in Bursa. With a deposit of TL 28 billion at banks, İzmir comes in third following İstanbul and Ankara. But it is a known fact that as of late İzmir has not made the progress that it should have.”

Another issue is the degree of urbanization in the city. Even though the government generally allocates more resources to İzmir, especially for transportation and other infrastructural projects, some people believe that alone is not enough. One of the main points of criticism in failing to sufficiently implement urban transformation projects has been the lack of metro lines. İzmir Chamber of Architects Chairman Hasan Topal said the delay in urban transformation stems from challenges that arise during implementation, adding that “other major cities introduce special bills on this matter. The biggest problem in İzmir is reaching an agreement with people who live in places where urban transformation projects will be implemented.”

Possible solutions

Potential solutions include cooperating with each other to accelerate the pace of development, reviving tourism with the Agora project, implementing city restoration projects, developing a light rail system for public transportation, solving the parking garage problem, facilitating big tourism investments in Çeşme, solving port problems, supporting harbors with logistical infrastructure, building new fair and convention areas, exerting effort to make it a popular conference city, building a port for cruise ships, removing poll taxes, implementing the new city center project between Alsancak and Turan and making a plan for İnciraltı, which has been declared a tourism location.

Interrupted investment plans

Metro: Construction of the 5.5-kilometer line between Üçyol and Üçkuyular began in 2005. The metropolitan municipality cancelled the first two contracts after the contractors failed to complete the project. The municipality decided to put the construction of the line in two parts out to bid. The Public Procurement Authority cancelled the first part, and the municipality filed a request for a stay. With the risk of the tunnels collapsing, the municipality began cementing the interior parts from its own funds.

World Trade Center: Initiated by Güçbirliği Holding in Basmane Square in 1998, the construction became the subject of a lawsuit in 2001. There is currently a massive hole in the city center where the building is supposed to be built.

Viaducts: Construction of the viaducts on the 1st Kordon, which was launched by former İzmir Mayor Özfatura, was stopped by court order. The 1st Kordon was later reorganized as a pedestrian and park area. Connecting the viaducts the construction of which is almost complete, to the harbor has been brought up to the agenda, but there is currently no work under way.