İstanbul municipality has new plan to save city’s historic skyline

In response to a written parliamentary question, Günay stated recently that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will cooperate with the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the İstanbul Protection Board and the Cultural and Natural Assets Conservation Board in order to keep İstanbul’s historic silhouette intact.

Günay pointed out that the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality is working on an “İstanbul Silhouette Master Plan” that has been suggested by the Urban Planning Directorate and that will mainly focus on preventing the construction of illegal buildings and controlling construction on İstanbul’s historical peninsula and in the Bosporus and the Golden Horn areas. He added that until the master plan is completed, construction in specific areas will be restricted.

According to the new city zoning plan that was put together by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s City Planning Directorate and approved by the Cultural and Natural Assets Conservation Board in 2011, new buildings under construction in the city will be limited in terms of the number of stories they can have. Günay added that buildings already under construction or which have already been completed will not be subject to these restrictions.

The minister indicated that a construction project in Kazlıçeşme, in the city’s Zeytinburnu district, lies within the borders of historic areas included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. He also pointed out that an investigation launched by the ministry into the construction has revealed that the project would have a negative impact on the silhouette of the historical peninsula.