İstanbulites call for transparency over future of Taksim’s trees

 A wholehearted advocate of green space in the heart of the city, Duras considered parks not simply as thoroughfares or recreation sites, but as vital components of urban existence. Such was Duras’ love for parks that an honorary green space was constructed on Rue Marguerite Duras in Paris in 2010.

Duras was of course not alone in her appreciation of parks; from Washington to London and Paris to Melbourne, many vibrant mega-cities across the globe have taken steps over the years to ensure that the futures of their green spaces are not compromised by commercial ventures and urban expansion.

It certainly may not be the biggest nor the most sophisticated of green city spaces, but İstanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park, a leafy oasis that has characterized Turkey’s most high-profile public square for more than seven decades, is a park nonetheless. Over the years it has hosted everything and anything from protests to picnics and exhibitions to concerts. Yet in the near future, if the İstanbul Municipality has its way, Gezi Park will be no more.

In an announcement that has distressed İstanbulites of all generations, the park is set to fall victim to the vision of the “Taksim Project,” an impending initiative that calls for the construction of enormous ramps leading to subterranean tunnels at seven points in the immediate vicinity of the square. Tarlabaşı Boulevard and Tamirhane will merge at Taksim Square and the large portion of the square that currently serves as a bus station of sorts will be transformed into a concrete pedestrian-only area and all traffic will be shooed underground -- out of sight, out of mind. Furthermore, the existing sidewalks along the boulevards will be transformed into service roads, raising fears that, contrary to the municipality’s line that the project will make Taksim more pedestrian-friendly, it will in fact become a challenge to reach the square by foot.

More controversially still, perplexing plans have been passed to completely uproot Gezi Park and replace it with a 35,000-square-meter reconstruction of an Ottoman military barrack, which was demolished in 1940. İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş has stated that the imitation of the old compound will serve as both a cultural center and art gallery, with the ground floor planned to house cafes and sitting areas.

But locals are frustrated and angry -- not because Taksim Square is undergoing a face-lift -- but because of the lack of transparency and unprecedented speed with which the project was given the green light by the Board of Monument’s ratification two weeks ago, following unanimous acceptance by the Metropolitan Municipality Assembly in September.

As awareness of the very real and impending nature of the Taksim Project grows, a strong and growing opposition to the municipality’s plans has manifested itself in the form of The Taksim Platform. A group made up of architects, civil servants, representatives from civic organizations and concerned citizens from all walks of life, the platform calls upon İstanbul city officials to serve their constituents in a transparent and democratic way.

Professor Betül Tanbay from the platform told Sunday’s Zaman that many people feel betrayed by the lack of consultation and the secrecy with which the plans were passed through official channels.

“The Taksim Platform is not about pointing the finger and blaming different parties. All we are pushing for is a careful and considered approach to evaluate what is best for the future of Taksim Square. In this case there has been absolutely no discussion or transparency -- only ambiguity and doubt. Experience shows us that reckless urban development can produce gravely problematic results,” she said.

The official line of the Taksim Platform is that the plans were made in complete isolation from groups who have the expertise to evaluate the effects that the project may have on the urban fabric of Taksim, and this is a violation of the participatory values of democracy.

The group is also highly skeptical of the underground tunnel plan, which they argue is a method that has been long-since discredited in the developed world and will not solve the problems of urban transportation and traffic.

Architect Korhan Gümüş from the Taksim Platform stated earlier in the week that the group is not campaigning that Taksim Square should stay as it is, but that the decision on the future of the square, dear to many people, should be a measured and unanimous one, involving input from all groups in society.

The head of the İstanbul Committee for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets, Mete Tapan, told Sunday’s Zaman that if the plans to reconstruct the barracks -- arguably the most controversial part of the project -- go ahead, they will be carried out in complete accordance with the relevant statutory provisions. However, rumors have been circulating over the past few weeks that the municipality’s plan to rebuild the Ottoman barrack is a ploy by developers who have long-coveted the prime position of Gezi Park for commercial ventures.

Having been rebuffed by laws safeguarding the city’s green spaces for many years, many fear that planners have finally succeeded in abusing the laws that preserve historic buildings, twisting the intended meaning to “preserve” a building that isn’t there and then use the reconstruction as an opportunity to build a shopping mall.

“The rumors about the reconstruction being used as a shopping center are unfounded,” Tanbay from The Taksim Platform told Sunday’s Zaman. “However, we are completely opposed to one of İstanbul’s more unusual parks being destroyed to build a completely new structure under the guise of ‘reconstruction’,” she added.

As debate on the future of one of Turkey most symbolic squares continues, concerned İstanbul residents hope that is not too late for an intervention that may afford them at least a small say in the design of their city. The Taksim Platform and supporters are gathering today at noon in Gezi Park to make their voices heard.