Evaluation of urban infrastructure policies in Turkey for climate resilience and adaptation

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ABSTRACT

Turkey is a country vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change. In urban areas where most of the population lives, floods occur due to sudden, short-term but heavy rains caused by climate change. Infrastructure deficiencies have also caused considerable loss of life and property. I have discussed policies and practices of public administration formed by central government and local administrations focusing on climate change resilience and adaptation. I have also evaluated policy areas that need further development. This study can contribute to finding solutions to problems faced by cities in Turkey and other nearby countries. Findings show that participatory processes involving scientific and local knowledge can play a key role. Green and blue infrastructure with grey infrastructure and associated engineering solutions should also be used. Legislation should be updated to expand the use of nature-based solutions and green infrastructure, which should form a key focus of urban policy development.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate change
• adaptation
• resilience
• urban infrastructure
• Turkey

Disclosure statement

The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) reviewed the anonymised abstract of the article, but had no role in the peer review process nor the final editorial decision.

Additional information

Funding

The Article Publishing Charge (APC) for this article is funded by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Notes on contributors

Çiğdem Tuğaç

Çiğdem Tuğaçis an Associate Professor at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Political Science and Public Administration. She worked as the Head of the Department of Climate Change Adaptation and Local Policies at the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of Turkey. Her research focuses on climate change adaptation, DRR and the resilience of urban areas. She represented Turkey in UNFCCC’s loss and damage contact point group and IPCC’s Task Group on Gender.