The importance of designing climate-resilient cities for future scenarios: Case of Antalya


Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Mimarlık, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2023

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: ŞEVVAL SİMRUY BAYGÜL

Danışman: Ayşem Berrin Çakmaklı

Özet:

It has been recognized that a climate crisis is on the horizon, and the underlying reason is not simply a natural shift, but global warming caused by human activities. With the emergence of technological advancements and industrialization, human-caused climate change brings even more "natural" disasters. To survive, cities of the future world must be designed to be climate resilient. Meantime, adapting to extreme conditions and mitigating their effects are crucial considerations. This research focuses on not only climate change and the resulting disasters, but also global adaptation and mitigation strategies to fight them. These common strategies work as an observational tool to conduct a study of problematic cities in Turkey, where deaths and economic losses are not taken seriously enough. Among many, Antalya is chosen as a case study, since its gradually rising temperatures threaten the daily life of the citizens. The seemingly trivial problem continues to affect this well-known tourist attraction, which is also a trending retirement destination for the aging population. The unbearable temperatures started to change tourist preferences, causing Antalya to lose its economic dominance, and began to pose a serious death threat to the elderly people. To better understand this phenomenon, known as the urban heat island effect, an ongoing urban transformation project in Antalya is analyzed. Through a series of future scenarios, and by exploring the estimated outcomes of the investigated strategies, this study is an attempt to raise awareness about what is inevitably waiting for the world. Reducing the urban heat island effect and adapting to the discussed potential scenarios are aimed on behalf of a more livable city.