WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED / NOT LEARNED FROM DISASTERS:

THE PLACE AND THE FUNCTION OF SPATIAL RESEARCH AND PLANNING IN THE CENTENARY ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUBLIC

DECEMBER 15th – 16th – 17th, 2023  IZMIR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

In a period when the national and international agenda is changing rapidly, it is now better understood that all kinds of changes are directly related to the built environment and space. While spatial research and discussions conducted at an inadequate level make it difficult to read the causes and consequences of today’s crises; the limited number of scientific studies are not evaluated effectively in decision-making processes and practice. Besides, both the natural phenomena that have been experienced as a disaster which is worsened as crises, and the fallacies or incomplete management of the processes before, during, and after the disaster reveal that lessons learned from the past experiences are not enough to cope with today’s challenges that reoccur.

At the beginning of 2023, the preparations for the elections while starting the second century of the Republic of Turkey and overcoming the social and economic effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic were among the main topics of the national agenda. At the same time, the preparation of the Twelfth Development Plan and the national spatial strategic plan, the approval and enforcement of the new regional plans for the 2024-2028 period were among the prominent issues of the spatial policies. However, with the earthquakes of February 6-20, 2023, the agenda changed drastically, and our very weak national memory was refreshed.

In Turkey, as an earthquake country, as a result of the inappropriate policies that have been implemented, not only earthquakes but also many natural phenomena have been experienced as painful disasters. In recent years, serious losses have been experienced, especially because of floods, earthquakes, fires, and avalanches experienced in a sequential manner. The reasons behind ignoring the risks, the mismanagement of the crises and the issues of what is done wrong and what is missing have long been discussed. Despite the fact that almost a quarter of a century has passed since the 1999 Marmara Earthquake, which is accepted as an important turning point in the field of risk and disaster management, especially irregular urbanization, non-compliance with legislation, the lack of supervision, unmanaged institutions and crises, and the failure to adopt a risk management culture are put on table once again. The necessity to emphasize these issues, which have been repeatedly addressed in past URRN symposiums, is often confirmed with painful results. It is obvious that there are still a lot of issues to be discussed especially in terms of spatial studies and the planning profession. The experienced process gains importance in terms of underlining that the planning system in Turkey should be re-examined not only in terms of disaster resilience but also in its fullest extent.

With those concerns, the main theme of the 9^th URRN Symposium focuses on discussing the spatial and social causes and consequences of the disasters we have experienced recently, the place and the importance of institutional structuring, planning, and spatial studies in these processes. Covering all the concerns, the symposium of 2023 is titled as “What We Have Learned / Not Learned From Disasters: The Place and The Function of Spatial Research and Planning in the Centenary Anniversary of the Republic“. Within the scope of this main theme; under the headings below, it will be discussed that how urban and regional planning as an institutional process found a place in the institutional structure of the century-old Republic of Turkey; the processes it has gone through, the challenges it has overcome/failed to overcome; the proportion of the problems experienced by planning in the crisis and the future of planning in the second century. Within this framework, the reconceptualization of planning in Turkey and the development of a new planning system will be opened for discussion:

• Our Centennial Institutional Structuring, and Planning as an Institutional Structure: Our institutions and the planning system; the structuring, quality, competence, and effectiveness of the institutions; national, regional, and local actors and roles; merit discussions in institutional functioning; risk management policies, institutions and legislation; management and governance; weaknesses and dilemmas of planning; responsibility and the role of the planning and the planner; planning education; the place of risks and disasters in planning education.
• Risk and Disaster Terminology, Concepts, Theories, and Techniques in Planning: Dealing with the meaning and content of the plan and planning concepts within the framework of risk sectors and disasters; the processes that turn natural phenomena into disasters and the role of planning in these processes; multiple disaster risks; new methods and applications; nature-based solutions; approaching the concepts of “contingency, risk reduction, disaster response, and action plan” within the framework of the disaster risk management plan; examples from Turkey and the world; urban risk management and risk sectors; risk management components; site selection for emergency action areas during and after disasters; possible effects and reflections of recent international developments on spatial research and planning.
• Risks, Disasters, Economic Crises, and Development: The place of risk management and disasters within the scope of development policies; considerations on the relationship between physical geography and economic geography through disasters; reflections of economic dynamics on physical geography; disaster impact in development; determining and modeling production losses; initiatives restructuring and organizing economic life in a post-disaster period; post-disaster urban and rural development; solidarity economy, new collaborations, initiatives, and production models.
• Urban Politics, Planning, and Society: The relationship between disasters and urban rent; urban policy processes and results based on rent; populist policies that create inequality; societal conflicts caused or deepened by disasters; urban transformation projects; the relationship of these policies and projects with disasters in different dimensions; reactions against these policies and projects; urban policy planning and policy development at national, regional and local levels; disasters and citizen reaction; new formations and solidarity organizations; the functions and effectiveness of these formations especially in disaster and crisis periods, the effects of disasters on migration and demography; disadvantaged and vulnerable groups at the times of disasters; societal psychology during and after disasters; risk society and education; societal perspective on multiple disasters; societal risks and potentials.
• Risks, Disasters, and Urban Health: Actions should be taken in the short-, medium- and long-term in the formation of healthy communities after disasters; disposal methods and recommendations in the improvement and restructuring of living environments; the creation of healthy living function areas; the changing dimensions of service delivery, and policy recommendations within this framework; function of the planning in these processes.
• Disasters, Reconstruction, and Housing Production: Rehabilitation and reconstruction from housing scale to regional scale; design of short- and long-term planning tools and processes in a post-disaster period; planning of participatory processes; temporary accommodation; formation of permanent settlements; spatial studies-oriented disciplines; restructuring of these disciplines, their place and effects in the restructuring process; the malfunction or discredit in those disciplines; the housing problem and housing policies; the change of transportation modes; the restructuring in the fields of natural and cultural heritage.
• Resilient Cities in Turkey in the Centenary of the Republic: The place and effectiveness of urban planning and design in the creation of resilient cities; the concept of resilient city and approaches within this framework; cooperation in creating resilient cities, disciplines, and requirements; resilience from housing scale to regional scale; concepts and design of the newest settlement and urbanization models within the framework of resilience.
• Risks, Disasters and Technology: Sustainable decision support systems for planning, risk management and disaster management; the use of information technologies before, during and after the disaster; artificial intelligence applications; data management (data generation, processing, storage, interpretation).
• Reconceptualizing Urban and Regional Planning, and Establishment of a New Planning System: Considering that our current planning system has not realized livable, fair, sustainable, and resilient cities; how the conceptual, administrative, and structural discussions on constructing a new planning system should be handled?

APPLICATION

Those who want to participate in the symposium should upload their abstracts of 200-400 words from https://kbam.metu.edu.tr/bildiri-ozeti-gonderme/ until July 9, 2023.