ELAZIG GUNISIGI NEWSPAPER – February 2012
CAN A NAIL SAVE A COUNTRY?
I believe that the scale of the earthquake risk in our country, the tremendous financial and emotional burden brought by the Van earthquakes, the inadequate structural stock in terms of earthquake resistance, and the subsequent urban transformation are not fully understood.
The loss of lives caused by earthquakes, the destruction of dreams, the broken families, and the disrupted mental health cannot be measured by material damage alone. Furthermore, the estimated material loss caused by the earthquakes in Kütahya-Simav and Van last year is around 10 billion dollars. With this amount, a significant portion of Turkey’s existing building stock could have been renewed.
If you follow the media, you’ll come across some information about the building stock. There are reports saying that 10% of buildings should be demolished and rebuilt, and 30% should be reinforced. What they are describing is actually a rather optimistic picture, although it might appear to be a bad one. In this country, almost all buildings, even those with unfinished rough construction, but never used, suffered medium or severe damage in almost every earthquake. These were new buildings, which in theory should have been earthquake-resistant. I believe this example is enough to convey the general condition of our existing building stock.
The government’s stance is clear. Our Prime Minister said: “I may lose the election, but I will not lose my people.” He issued a directive to begin urban transformation projects, and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization is doing serious work in this regard.
So, what are we doing? Our relevant institutions are certainly not disturbing their comfort. We continue to live our lives with the attitude of “Didn’t the ministry give us an order, didn’t we do that?” The government seems to be fully supportive of the work to be done in this area. But locally, we are still unable to move beyond traditional meetings.
The main issue is not to be among the priority provinces for urban transformation, but to sign projects that will serve as examples in urban transformation efforts. I am not saying we shouldn’t be part of these provinces or not fight for it, but while a significant portion of our citizens live in areas that could turn into cemeteries, we must not remain idle.
What can we do instead of remaining idle? First and foremost, let’s stop the protocol meetings. I am referring to those meetings where everyone talks about the necessity of urban transformation and expresses their willingness to do their part.
The Governor’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, and the University should come together first. A joint protocol can be made to create a united front. Then, the relevant technical units can come together, and steps toward implementation can be taken. The Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanization, AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority), the municipality’s zoning and construction units, and the university’s Civil Engineering and Building Concrete Application and Research Center can prepare a work program for urban transformation.
Support from all relevant institutions and non-governmental organizations should be sought within this program. With this support, I believe we can undertake pioneering projects for Turkey.
Urban transformation does not only mean demolishing buildings and rebuilding them. It also means reorganizing the building stock of each land plot. While these operations are carried out, issues that nobody is considering right now will arise.
These issues must be addressed before it is too late, and they should be forwarded to the parliament through politicians. It is highly likely that these issues will only be solved through laws.
The working system I have described in this article is similar to the working system of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). You can’t even write a single sentence for preparing a law with hundreds of people because everyone has a different opinion. These tasks are handled by the commissions and subcommittees.
To turn words into action, it is inevitable that technical teams from different institutions must sit at the same table and collaborate on a joint project.
A nail saves a horseshoe,
A horseshoe saves a horse,
A horse saves a commander,
A commander saves an army,
And an army saves an entire country.