Debris Recycling or Urban Transformation?

They say that when you apply to authorized institutions to have your building tested to see if it is earthquake resistant, if the building fails the test, the building must be evacuated and demolished within three months. 

Law no. 6306 and the implementation regulation of this law actually have the details, but I took a look at it and I couldn't find it.

Anyway, that's why people don't want their buildings to be tested. 

They were afraid that the value of their buildings would decrease, and they were afraid of the difficulties they would fall into, because they would have to vacate the building within three months at the latest. 

Actually, I don't really understand. 

We are talking about an earthquake risk report, for example, the Istanbul metropolitan municipality provides such a report free of charge.

Aren't people afraid of dying? 

If they live in a building that will be destroyed in an earthquake, maybe the building they live in will become a grave for them in an earthquake. 

Don't people realize this?

I would get an earthquake risk report for my house.

I don't know the exact conditions, but the state has a certain amount of rental support because you have to rent somewhere else during the reconstruction of your building, and I think it is also stipulated by law to provide low-interest loan support for the construction cost of the new building. 

Of course, the state does not guarantee to build you a new building free of charge, but as far as I understand it, it provides a certain support.

Of course, it is said that under these conditions, people hesitate to participate in urban transformation because of the disruption of their established order and other possible problems. 

As I said, for some reason, it doesn't occur to people that they might lose their lives in a possible earthquake. 

Even if it does, as the saying goes, it won't happen to me, perhaps many of them have the comfort that it won't happen to me. 

I guess we like to deceive ourselves as a society.

However, in neighborhoods that are suitable for contractors who intend to carry out rent-based transformation rather than urban transformation, people consent to the reconstruction of their buildings not with state support, but with the favorable conditions offered by the contractor. Perhaps they also receive state support in such neighborhoods. 

In such luxurious neighborhoods, some people sometimes have the chance to renovate their apartments even without paying an additional fee. It depends on the neighborhood.

The developers who are after this rentier transformation often offer very favorable conditions to the homeowners, if the neighborhood allows them to build one or two stories higher. 

Sometimes they are willing to give new apartments with very low additional fees. 

I know that sometimes they don't even ask for a fee because thanks to the additional floors, they can easily cover the construction cost by selling these additional apartments at high prices. On top of that, maybe they also get the profits they expect from that construction.

This being the case, naturally, only the buildings in luxury neighborhoods can be renewed under the name of urban transformation. 

In fact, I think the reason for the renewal of buildings in these neighborhoods is not urban transformation, but rentier transformation.

Therefore, the buildings in poor neighborhoods, where rent transformation is not possible, perhaps especially in Istanbul, after the 99 İzmit earthquake, even if there were cracks in the buildings, they were managed with cosmetic repairs, and it seems that these buildings remain as they are in the form of coffin houses in case of a possible Istanbul earthquake.

Until the Maraş earthquake, poor people in these poor neighborhoods were struggling to survive without thinking about a possible earthquake, taking this situation for granted, partly because of the economic problems caused by the incompetence of the government. It is a mystery whether anything has changed now. But it is a fact that a certain fear has gripped people now.

In fact, some people in these neighborhoods may still be saying "reyis de reyis", but on the other hand, they are still struggling with the problem of making a living. 

Maybe there are still some of them who can only live on the aid they receive. In other words, they live in neighborhoods that are much more dangerous in terms of earthquakes, and they do not have the economic power to renew their buildings through urban transformation.

In other words, maybe these people are not even aware of the risk they are living under, or rather they were not aware of it until yesterday! Maybe there are some among them who have realized it now. 

Now there is talk of an explosion in the number of people applying to the municipality to test our building. 

I really don't know if any of these applicants are from the poor neighborhoods I mentioned. Maybe they are, maybe they are not. I wish there were. My guess is that it might be more people from luxury neighborhoods who are applying.

Regardless of whoever they are, by law, among those whose buildings have been tested by the municipality or other authorized institutions, if there are those who live in buildings that have failed the test, they will have to vacate their buildings within three months. 

I don't know how they will do this, because I think three months is a very short time to do all these things.

After evacuating the buildings, it will not be easy to find a contractor and rebuild the buildings in such a short period of time, even if the state provides rental support and maybe even a favorable loan. 

Anyway, it is not clear in today's economic conditions whether it is possible to find a place to live with the rent support provided by the state. There are already reports that rents have skyrocketed again.

On the other hand, if people live in neighborhoods that cannot be subjected to rent-based transformation, I do not think that the construction costs of the buildings to be rebuilt can be covered by the loans that can be obtained by the apartment owners, even if they are obtained under favorable conditions. 

Especially in Istanbul, construction costs have risen a lot. Everything goes up every day.

Since this is the case, what are we going to do in this situation? 

How are we going to renovate buildings that cannot withstand a possible earthquake, especially in Istanbul? 

What are we going to do not only in Istanbul but also in other risky cities? 

What about the towns? 

What about villages? 

Does anyone think about the villages?

In short, I think the situation is not good at all. It is necessary to handle these issues with a big organization and by thinking on a large scale. This is a very difficult thing to do. 

I think our main problem is drowning in details! We have such complicated legislation that it is impossible to get out of it. 

Let the state do it! 

Sure, the state has nothing to do, it will demolish the makeshift building you built in your time and build you a beautiful building. 

Will it? 

Even if the state tries to do this transformation, the financial resources of the state would not be sufficient for such a transformation, and the physical construction power of the state would not be sufficient for such a transformation.

But in earthquakes, the state has to remove the rubble at great expense. So it finds resources when it has to!

After earthquakes, it has to build earthquake-resistant houses for those whose houses were destroyed in the earthquake.

Let it create this resource without earthquakes!

Moreover, all the lives lost in earthquakes and the social trauma of earthquakes over the years are such sad consequences that they cannot be measured even at a material cost.

So why doesn't the state generate resources and find a solution to this issue before an earthquake happens, before so many lives are lost and the established order is disrupted to such an extent?

Why doesn't the state prioritize urban transformation when it can do so at much lower costs? 

Why doesn't he take on the costs of this work within a plan whose costs are known from the beginning?

I think it should! 

Yes, at least a certain part of it should be borne by the state!

But it has already passed a law, it provides cheap loans and rent assistance! What else should it do?

I think it should take on more financial obligations!

Moreover, while collecting earthquake tax just for this purpose. 

Even the buildings to be demolished during urban transformation have a certain debris cost. It is also possible to utilize all kinds of rubble, from concrete to iron, in some way. 

For example, if buildings are renovated according to a certain plan, the cost of this rubble can also be taken into account. Even rubble can be considered as a resource.

Let me tell you one more solution for finding resources. 

If the land value of the building to be reconstructed is high, the state may have the chance to create a financial resource for the transformation by offering ready-made flats to the homeowners, perhaps in more distant neighborhoods on more favorable terms, and selling the flats in the new building that will be built on this land to those who are willing at higher prices. 

In this way, not only will they not have to pay rent subsidies, but also, even if it is a little far away, homeowners can own a new house on more favorable terms, just by changing the neighborhood. Moreover, since there are no additional costs in this case, the state has the chance to collect the costs of the new houses from the homeowners within a certain plan.

Since they will be able to move their belongings to their new homes without being buried under the rubble, they will also be spared some of the financial losses that would occur in an earthquake. So I can say that even this is an advantage compared to the earthquake devastation. 

New order and a new life. 

They say there is refreshment in a change of place, maybe there really is refreshment in changing places in this way.

Come again, here is a resource for you, actually not a resource but an economy. Perhaps if the new apartments to be built have fewer square meters, it may be possible to build on more favorable terms financially. 

In other words, maybe it would be beneficial to build new houses with a little less square meters. 

I think we already live in very large houses.

I wrote an article on this subject before, in which I talked about houses in Russia. 

Low square meters can also give very economical results in terms of urban planning.

In short, I think that the state should make a very detailed financial plan for this issue and take this issue seriously, calculate the state resources once again, taking into account the huge costs that will arise in case of a possible earthquake, and offer options to homeowners under more favorable conditions. Otherwise, this will not be solved!

Maybe this is the solution that needs to happen. Smaller apartments!

I think it is also necessary to reconsider the three-month evacuation condition. 

If people are afraid of urban transformation under the current conditions, it means that we have to develop some new proposals to convince people of urban transformation.

Otherwise, as a nation, we will continue to deal with the recycling of the debris of buildings destroyed in earthquakes. 

One hundred million tons of debris. Easy to say, how will this debris be removed? Where will it be removed? The debris is said to be the size of Mount Erciyes.

And so many lives have been lost. They say that fire burns where it falls, I can't even imagine what those who have lost their relatives are going through. 

If we don't find a solution to this situation, we will keep calling out to the rubble to see if there is another survivor under the rubble, saying "can you hear me?". 

I don't know how you feel about this disaster, I can say that I am still in shock.

I don't know if anyone else has any ideas, I keep thinking about how to find a solution. At the same time I feel sorry for us.

Love and respect to everyone from Moscow