“The protests in Istanbul indicated one simple thing for architects (designers?): We need new definitions for architecture in situations when architecture is removed from architects,” Herkes İçin Mimarlık wrote on their Tumblr page.

As active participants of the protest movement, the group organized several workshops and festivals at Gezi Park in downtown Istanbul in order to demonstrate the importance of this public space.

Nothing they or any other artists, musicians or performers did could deter the government’s plan to raze the park to make way for a shopping mall.

And then the uprising happened and thousands of Turkish protestors took to the streets of cities across the country.

“We tried everything to start a dialogue but were never successful,” Herkes İçin Mimarlık said in a design brief posted on Dezeen.

“For a very long time, we had dreamed of an opposition which could stop the destruction. That miracle happened.”

When it did, all kinds of unique structures popped up, including bunk beds for sleeping, makeshift barricades constructed out of benches, and all manner of tents made from fabric cutouts, steel, wood, and other scrap or found materials.

“We always define architecture with architects. But, Gezi Park was an atmosphere where all paradigms that we were used to has shifted to something else.”

While the Turkish government used all means at its disposal to quell the social protests, including tear gas and water cannons, Architecture for All won’t allow them to erase the collective memory of this historical event.

Instead, they propose to build a library of their drawings to which there is an open invitation for contributions.

“We believe it is way of passive resistance. We keep remembering what happened in Taksim.”

:: Dezeen

The post #occupygezi In-Situ Architecture Made with Scrap Materials (Photos) appeared first on Green Prophet.

The activists, each a leader in their home country, have gathered from 134 nations to attend the Global Power Shift Summit organized by 350.org – the same group responsible for over 20,000 international peaceful demonstrations to date.

Their intent: solve the climate crisis.

It’s a tall order, particularly in Istanbul where the Turkish government executed a swift and violent crackdown in recent weeks when protestors swarmed city streets asking for environmental, political and social change.

Tomorrow’s leaders are an extraordinary group with bold visions despite several predictions of a bleak and miserable future on a very hot planet.

Joao Scarpelini, one of the lead coordinators of Global Power Shift from Brazil, said, “I want to welcome everyone that believes in the power of young people,” according to a recent statement released by the organizers.

“What’s most important is that we all get to inspire each other based on our stories, and each of us has an authentic story to tell,” said Nanjira Sambuli, a facilitator from Kenya who will be leading workshops throughout the summit.

The attendees often had to wait weeks to obtain visas to visit Turkey for this unprecedented event, but they persevered.

350.org’s Joshua Kahn Russell helped to create the event’s curriculum.

“We’re not just talking about breadth and scale and numbers,” he said, “but depth of relationships amongst one another.”

“As young people, we’re inheriting a broken world full of divisions. One of the reasons we’re coming together here is to grapple with those differences and build one big movement where we all belong.

On Thursday, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary, Christiana Figueres, will address the Global Power Shift summit.

“We are fast approaching 2015, the year in which governments have to reach a new climate change agreement that guides the longer-term international response to climate change,” said Secretary Figueres in advance of her address.

“This longer-term response will affect generations to come, which is why it is critical for the voice of youth to be heard now.”

Throughout the upcoming week, participants will engage in workshops, art and training projects as well as panel discussions.

Meanwhile, the Turkish hosts have not quieted their political rhetoric at all – despite the government’s declared war on anyone who dares to “cause the country harm,” as Prime Minister Erdogan declared in a televised address at the end of the most active protests.

“We are here to stand against more than 50 coal fired power plants,” said Mahir Ilgiz, the lead Turkish organizer for Global Power Shift. “Let’s start shifting power here in Turkey.”

Image via 350.org Facebook Page

The post Istanbul: 500 Youth Activists Gather for Global Power Shift Summit appeared first on Green Prophet.

Last weekend, hundreds of neighbors and activists demonstrated against a planned parking garage in the Lebanese capital. Over 300 park users, including kids and senior citizens, responded to a Facebook invitation to peaceably “protest against the demolition of Jesuit Garden,” a popular and ancient public park.

The tiny park was created by Jesuits who came to Lebanon in the 1600s to open schools. Built atop an ancient site that boasts Roman columns and Greek mosaics, the area occupies a city block and is filled with old growth trees. The Jesuit Garden, which houses a small library with 7,500 books in Arabic, French and English, was given to Beirut Municipality over fifty years ago.

Charles Hayak from the NGO Biladi, which organizes garden tours for schoolchildren, described how sailors built the original church. He told the Daily Star, “The best way to create peace is to learn about our common history.”

Demonstrators held signs in Arabic, French, and English saying “Cut pollution, not trees” and “We will not pay the price of your bad planning” according to Lebanon’s Daily Star.  They distributed fliers describing Beirut’s diminishing public spaces as well as the history of the nearby church that dates back to Byzantine times.

Participants took orderly turns on a stage to passionately express their opposition. “This is not a good project. They should think about people first,” said 75-year-old Benjamin Damirjian, a local who has visited the Jesuit Garden daily for over half a century. “I come to smell the fresh air and see the kids play.”

Beirut Municipality had just announced their intent to construct underground parking for 600 cars beneath the centuries-old garden, citing a lack of parking in Ashrafieh, the old Christian district.  Opponents say the hundred-foot tall, century-old pine trees with their extensive root systems wouldn’t survive construction, nor transplant to other sites. They also warn against noise and air pollution and predict that vibrations from excavators would damage the old church.

Jihad Kiame, an architect and urban planner who lives next to the park, said surveyors had appeared with heavy equipment to take soil samples last week. Local residents protested and eventually officials from the Directorate General of Antiquities (a subset of the Culture Ministry that must be consulted on any construction that impacts sites of historical importance) arrived and confronted the team.

“The new generation is looking for much more transparency in the process of deciding anything having to do with public spaces,” said Kiame, who said he often takes his small daughter to the park.

The municipality has promised to replant a new garden once the project is complete, but activists argue that the large trees are irreplaceable. Fadel Fakih, an environmental campaigner at NGO Green Line stated that exact plans for the project had not been released.

Local reports indicate the municipality plans to sell the spaces for thousands of dollars per square meter,  which points to financial motives trumping civic welfare. Taksim redux?

As the demonstration concluded, Fakih said, “This is a simple campaign to protect the garden. The parking garage needs to be stopped.”

Meanwhile, local activists are also working on stopping a new Beirut highway that will destroy the city’s remaining green space.

Image of protestor from the Daily Star

The post Taksim Redux? Lebanese Protest Over Loss of Beirut’s Ancient Jesuit Garden Park appeared first on Green Prophet.

Martello was supposed to tour Eastern Europe with his piano when he heard about the protests in Turkey, which erupted when authorities treated activists protesting the development of Gezi Park with a heavier-than-necessary hand.

Thousands of people subsequently took to the streets in cities all across the nation, as rage towards an increasingly dictatorial government bubbled on for twelve days.

The mayhem began to subside after authorities threatened a policy of zero tolerance towards dissenters, though stragglers continue to float in and out of Gezi Park and Taksim Square.

After delivering a performance that went viral on Facebook, Martello had his car and piano confiscated.

“The Turkish police seized my piano, my car and my Iphone [sic],” Martello wrote on his Facebook page.

“I need help!!! They didn’t arrest me because I have an angel with me.”

Scores of people inspired by his performance offered to help Davide, who has launched a crowd-funding campaign on indiegogo to help recover some of expenses and launch a unique, peacekeeping music label.

So far he has raised €635 out of €30,000.

Martello has been traveling the world with his piano since 2010.

Last Christmas he played at the German base in Afghanistan on Christmas eve in order to offer solace to the men who were separated from their families.

“I wanted to bring a piece of home to them,” he said. Of his overall intention, he says “I want to bring peace and love to the world through my music. That‘s why I play on public squares of big cities to emphazise [sic] the moments.”

The post Taksim Square: Turkish Authorities Seize German Musician’s Piano appeared first on Green Prophet.

For now the square has cleared as protestors have been subdued with water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas used by riot police to disperse them.

They have since moved to nearby Gezi Park, where last week police attacked activists who had set up tents to protest against the development of a new shopping center at one of the city’s last remaining urban green spaces.

That heavy handed response set off a firestorm of anti-government anger that swept through dozens of cities across the country. Hundreds of people were treated with injuries and at least four deaths were recorded, according to the Turkish Human Rights Foundation.

Now Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims that “it’s over.”

BBC News reports that Erdogan has vowed to show zero tolerance for the people he claims aim to “hurt Turkey,” although he is said to have agreed to meet an actress, a singer and a writer who will mediate with protestors.

Taksim Solidarity, the group that organized the protests, claim that they have not been contacted by the Prime Minister, nor would they be willing to speak with him. They also say they do not know the team of three with whom he is scheduled to meet.

The United States and Germany have been critical of Turkey’s handling of protests.

“We expect Prime Minister Erdogan to de-escalate the situation, in the spirit of European values, and to seek a constructive exchange and peaceful dialogue,”  German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in a statement.

Although the square is now clear, there is very little evidence that the protestors are ready to go home. They have been critical of Erdogan’s increasing authoritarianism and what some perceive as the Islamification of a secular state.

Meanwhile, the kind of development schemes that first catalyzed a surge of anti-government sentiments continue apace.

Here are five of the most unsustainable projects on the charts that are bound to have a long lasting negative impact on both people and the environment.

:: BBC News

Image via Wikimedia

The post All Quiet in Taksim Square, for Now appeared first on Green Prophet.

Turkey’s Taksim square protest flared up last week when police took drastic measures to clear activists from Gezi Park- slated for destruction to make way for yet another shopping center. But that’s not the only unsustainable project the government is pursuing in the name of economic growth. We list 5 of the major ones. These five put money before the well being of both people and nature.

1. Turkey Opens up Property Laws to Foreigners

Turkey has plans to clear 4.1 million acres of forest and demolish 6.5 million buildings throughout the country in order to make space for more commercial buildings, shopping centers, residential complexes, luxury hotels and other development projects. But outside investment is essential to such rapid growth, which is why the Turkish government reformed their property laws (we report here) to make it easier for foreigners to purchase and develop land. This change has opened Turkey to an explosion of new development projects that put whole communities at risk.

2. Taksim Square to Become Lifeless

It’s impossible to talk about a list of unsustainable development projects in Turkey without taking a quick look at Taksim Square (read our report here)– one of the last remaining green spaces left in Istanbul. Despite great opposition from the local populace, the government established plans to replace this precious urban park with a new shopping mall, roadways and tunnels, a courtyard and a tiny patch of grass.

3. The Ilısu Dam

The Ilısu Dam for hydro-electric power and currently under construction in Turkey is expected to vastly transform life along the Tigris River and not in a good way. Green Prophet writer Julia Harte is currently tracking those impacts as part of a trip funded by a National Geographic Young Explorer Grant. The Ilısu Dam is the biggest hydroelectric dam currently under construction in Turkey, Julia wrote in an earlier post, though it is not the only one — “18 have so far been built under the scope of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), a massive development program approved by the Turkish government in 1982,” she says.

Meanwhile, the UN issued a report condemning Turkey’s Tigris and Euphrates River hydroelectric dams for violating the human rights of downstream countries, including Iraq.

4. Istanbul’s LEED Renaissance Tower

Green Prophet writer Laurie said that the only thing sustainable about the 44 story LEED Renaissance Tower slated for construction in Istanbul is its zip code. Under the guise of LEED certification, the 606 foot tower soars above its surrounding neighborhood, potentially destroying the very fabric of this ancient city.

Not only will it require “a river to clean” due to all the glass, but a lot of interior lighting will create light pollution and consume a great deal of energy. IE. This building is not sustainable at all.

 5. Istanbul Airport to Kill 658,000 Trees

Turkey’s transportation ministry is planning to build “the world’s largest airport,” (as we report here) but in order to do so, they must first clear cut nearly a square kilometer of pristine forest on Lake Terkos near the Black Sea. In other words, 658,000 trees representing ten different species will be sacrificed to build the new airport, is expected to serve up to 1.5 million passengers annually.

These five ongoing projects in Turkey demonstrate a sort of governmental divorce from the people whose lives depend on healthy natural resources.

The post 5 of Turkey’s Most Unsustainable Development Projects appeared first on Green Prophet.

Weeklong protests allegedly started over demolition of a popular Istanbul park – an issue we covered months ago here.  Taksim Gezi Park site is earmarked for a new shopping mall. Urban development sparks protests the world over, so what blew this one to epic proportions?

A peaceful protest began in response to government actions viewed as favoring profit over people and nature.  But, similar to “Occupy” movements and the Arab uprisings, the Taksim demonstrators embrace many distinct causes, there is no singular focus.

Sure, there are environmental mandates. There are demands for free speech and entitlement to nonviolent demonstration. There are pleas to maintain separation between secular government and majority religion. There are calls for greater protections for Turkish democracy and human rights.

And the elephant in the Square may be Turkey’s muzzled media, which is unable to report on it all. There are more journalists in jail in Turkey today than in any other country, and penalties are steep for broadcasting state-sensitive stories.  Most of the news concerning the protests has come from social media which is fascinating but unreliable, beholden to the writer’s point of view.

When branded organizations join the fray, resultant media attention and self-promotion further skew the story.

Greenpeace sent Green Prophet an update saying that is has declared solidarity with the park protestors, demanding the right to peaceful protest and urging that people and planet come before private profit. They opened their offices, adjacent to the park, offering protesters first aid and a place to rest.

Police are using tear gas, water cannon and pepper spray to disperse crowds. Dozens of protesters and onlookers have been arrested and injured; figures vary over persons killed. On the international level, Greenpeace is calling for an immediate end to police violence.

Decrying police brutality and embracing open space preservation are necessary and noble actions, but they only tell part of the Taksim story.

The nation is bi-polar. Turkey sits on two continents, but also straddles two worlds.  The NATO darling is positioning itself for EU membership, and aggressively seeking to expand tourism – a cornerstone of its economy with $25 billion in 2012 revenue. It’s investing in improved infrastructure for national transportation and growing the world’s largest airport.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Erdogan and his Islamist party are accused of extending their power over the government at the expense of constitutional checks and balances, replacing democracy with authoritarian leadership. Small erosions of personal freedoms (evolving bans on alcohol, smoking, and western dress) are viewed by secular Turks as further proof of the government’s Islamic agenda. How’s that going to work in the new tourism brochures?  Will it combine with current events to spin new Visit Turkey slogans?  Come visit, all you Germans, Russians and Brits – this place is a gas!

A court ordered temporary suspension of park demolition, but the action may be too little too late; protests are reported to have spread across Istanbul and have erupted in Ankara too.  Watch this place.  Or at least watch what little is being reported.

Read more background on Taksim Square here:
Turkey’s Environment Protest Swings to General Protest Against PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Controversial Renovation on Istanbul’s Taksim Square has Begun
Istanbul’s Taksim Square To Become Lifeless And Isolated In New Urban Plan, Opponents Warn

Read more about the ecology of urban planning in Turkey:
Turkey’s Most Sustainable Cities Share A Spotlight
Ecological Conference In Istanbul Questions Wisdom Of Rapid Economic Growth
Turkish Environmentalists, Architects Critical Of Proposed Canal
Major Turkish Cities Fail Sustainability Survey 

The post Taksim Protest Not Just About Turkey’s Trees at Gezi Park appeared first on Green Prophet.

Turkey is in the news for its social protests which may also be linked to this: a new Turkish law bans late night alcohol sales and requires boozy products to be smacked with warning labels.

Shops can’t openly display intoxicating wares or sell them between 10:00 pm to 6:00 am.  No more free hats and T-shirts either: alcohol producers are prohibited from sponsoring public events.

Turkey’s Muslim majority is ruled by a secular constitution, and this law (which requires presidential approval) is viewed by secular Turks as another proof of the government’s Islamic agenda.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that the party is not restricting freedoms but rather elevating Turkey (now jockeying for European Union membership) to international standards that emphasize health and protect youth.

Turkey has sought to discourage alcohol consumption by enforcing a minimum purchasing age of 18, and by applying steep sales tax. Some private businesses endorse the scheme; Turkish Airlines banned alcohol on some of its domestic flights.

The PM is also tackling tobacco, saying at a May 31 anti-tobacco conference (held at a Convention Center near Taksim Gezi Park as the protesters were starting to demonstrate) that restricting alcohol and banning smoking in public areas had “pleased the public.”

Speaking of his past accomplishments as Mayor of Istanbul, he told the conference goers, “We banned drinking, we banned smoking. These places began to fill up. It is our duty to protect the lawful acts of the minority as well. Our people want peaceful places,” Erdoğan said.

Did he run that credo by the nearby demonstrators in Taksim Square?

Erdoğan denied that this is an alcohol ban, “What’s essential to us is the benefit of our people. I will not back down from taking steps toward the preservation of my people’s future just because someone’s fun is being interrupted,” Erdoğan added, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

Did Turkish airlines ban lipstick for its flight attendants?

In a separate but related news, Turkish Airlines is backpedaling on its recent ban on red lipstick for its flight attendants.

“Lipstick-gate” erupted last week when the airline’s Media Relations department issued a memo forbidding flight crew from wearing red or dark pink lipstick and nail polish.

The memo declared that colorful cosmetics “impairs the visual integrity of the intended look,” concluding that, “Turkish Airlines has adopted a policy that requires service personnel to use personal grooming products that are in a more muted color palate.”

But the carrier’s boss, Dr. Temel Kotil, later said the memo (prepared by “low-level” managers) was not a rule, but rather, a guideline, adding that the experience was, “Taking us one step back but we’re going four steps forward”. See Reuters.

Human rights versus rights to buy midnight cocktails; freedom of speech versus freedom to smoke; environmental protections versus cosmetic liberation: it’s good that Turkey’s got their priorities straight.

The post Turkish Lipstick Ban Reversed, But Booze Sales Get Corked appeared first on Green Prophet.

Despite all the criticism the plan received from urban planners, lawyers, activists, academics, and concerned citizens, Istanbul has begun remodeling its central square, a focal point for transportation and protests.

In a preview of how the square will be isolated from the rest of the city after the renovation is finished, barriers have gone up separating Taksim Square from Cumhuriyet Avenue (at the top right of the photo) – one of the Istanbul’s main arteries. Tunnels are being dug in the avenue. And construction started on Nov. 5 with no warning to anyone, leaving shopkeepers furious and traffic congested, according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News.

Although it’s officially called the “Taksim Square Pedestrianization Project,” the post-renovation square will be far less pedestrian-friendly than it is currently, according to the plan’s opponents.

The plan will turn the stretch of Cumhuriyet Avenue nearest Taksim into a high-speed underground tunnel, apparently remove sidewalks from the above-ground stretches of the street, replace the current park next to Taksim with a military barracks and a mall, and move the bus station underground.

(See an artist’s rendering of the new square here).

Opponents have charged that the plan is an effort to cut off Taksim from the rest of the city, making it harder to stage large demonstrations there.

Already, the unannounced start of construction has alienated many local residents. One shop owner who has nearly lost his entire customer base as a result of the construction, told the HDN that he would never again vote for Turkey’s ruling party, which controls the Istanbul city government.

Excavations may further delay project

To make matters worse for Istanbul’s pedestrians, journalists are already predicting major delays on the project.

Although the government has promised the project will be completed in eight months, the construction firm carrying it out must wait for approval from archeologists before they can bring in any heavy machinery. Since the archeologists will survey the area slowly, digging up the earth by hand, their approval will probably be a long time coming.

In addition, the excavation area will be widened each time an artifact is found. Remarkable findings have been made in the Taksim area previously — 5th century sarcophagi near the Atatürk Cultural Center on the far end of the square, and Genoan tombs right by Cumhuriyet Avenue — so the archeologists have reason to expect multiple exciting findings from the upcoming digs.

In the meantime, pedestrians should expect at least a year of inconvenient detours while walking to or from Taksim Square.

:: Hurriyet Daily News

Read more about controversial urban planning in Istanbul:

Istanbul’s Main Square To Become Lifeless And Isolated In New Urban Plan, Opponents Warn
Istanbul Court Annuls Almost-Finished Roma Project
4.1 Million Acres Of Land Previously Classified As Forest Goes On Sale In Turkey Today

Image via Anadola Agency

The post Controversial Renovation of Istanbul’s Taksim Square Has Begun appeared first on Green Prophet.