1200 word literature review for 15 Articles + Questions

How to Cite this Article:

Yilmaz, D. G. (2021). Model Cities for Resilience: Climate-led Initiatives. Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, 5(1), 47-58.

https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2021.v5n1-4

Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs

2021, Volume 5, Number 1, pages 47– 58 Original scientific paper

Model Cities for Resilience: Climate-led Initiatives * Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz

Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Bursa Technical University, Bursa, Yıldırım Kampüsü, 152

Evler Mah., Eğitim Cd. No:85, Turkey

Email: [email protected]

ARTICLE INFO:

Article History: Received 18 February 2020

Accepted 20 July 2020

Available online 25 July 2020

Keywords: Climate Change; Sustainable Cities; Sponge Cities; Cities and Natural Disasters; Cities and Climate Actions.

ABSTRACT Paris Agreement of December 2015 was the last official initiative led by the

United Nations (UN) as the driver of climate change mitigation. Climate

change was hence linked with an increase in the occurrence of natural

hazards. A variety of initiatives were consequently adopted under different

themes such as sustainable cities, climate-friendly development, and low-

carbon cities. However, most of the initiatives targeted by global cities with

urban areas being the focus in terms of taking action against global warming

issues. This is due to the structural and environmental features of cities

characterized by being populated, as such, they not only generate a large

number of carbon emissions but also happens to be the biggest consumer of

natural resources. In turn, they create a microclimate, which contributes to

climate change. Masdar City, for example, was designed as the first fully

sustainable urban area, which replaced fuel-based energy with electric-based

energy. China, as another example, introduced the Sponge Cities action, a

method of urban water management to mitigate against flooding.

Consequently, architects and urban planners are urged to conform to the

proposals that would mitigate global warming. This paper, as a result,

examines some of the models that have been internationally adopted and

thereafter provide recommendations that can be implemented in large urban

areas in Turkey, primarily in Istanbul.

This article is an open access

article distributed under the terms and

conditions of the Creative Commons

Attribution (CC BY) license

This article is published with open

access at www.ijcua.com

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2021), 5(1), 47-58. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2021.v5n1-4

www.ijcua.com Copyright © 2020 by Didem Gunes Yilmaz.

1 . Introduction

Human beings experience different types of

natural disasters during their lifetimes. Some

types of natural disasters strike certain locations

because of seasonal and natural deeds. For

example, in the Atlantic Basin from the

beginning of June to the end of November,

there is a high possibility of a tropical cyclone

strike, which is called a hurricane. The most

prone areas, therefore, are the Atlantic coast

and the Gulf of the United States, and the

islands of the Caribbean. The season of

cyclones in the South Pacific and the Indian

Ocean is between November and April.

Tropical cyclones striking the Northwest Pacific

Ocean are called Typhoon and threaten the

islands of Japan and the Philippines. Differently,

the west coast of the United States is prone to

*Corresponding Author:

Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and

Design, Bursa Technical University, Bursa, Yıldırım

Kampüsü, 152 Evler Mah., Eğitim Cd. No:85, Turkey

Email address: [email protected]

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 48

earthquakes and wildfires rather than

hurricanes. Countries including Turkey, Iran,

Greece, and Italy are known as earthquake-

prone countries because of their geological

seismic structures. India, Bangladesh, Indonesia,

and Thailand are countries exposed to river

floods very often due to heavy rainfalls and their

low-lying lands. These examples are to frame

the natural reasons for some hazard types.

Accordingly, natural disasters can be

categorized into five groups: geophysical,

biological, meteorological, hydrological, and

climatological (Figure 1). Some types of hazards

turn into disasters for a small area and a short

period, such as earthquakes and volcanic

eruptions. Some of the hazards under the

categories of meteorological, hydrological,

and climatological affect larger areas and most

of the time last for a long period varying from

days to years. Consequently, natural disasters

are categorized based on their speed of

happening as well. Droughts, changes in the

amount of rainfall and the rise of sea level are

among the slow-onset disasters that “that does

not emerge from a single, distinct event but one

that emerges gradually over time, often based

on a confluence of different events” (Adamo,

2011). Slow-onset disasters are considered likely

to have resulted in population displacement

and migration mobility due to environmental

challenges. Hence, they have social and

economic effects in the long run since the

movement becomes either temporary (that is,

seasonal) or permanent in the case of

environmental conditions that cannot be

restored. Rapid-onset disasters, on the other

hand, have an instant impact, although some

allow for the early warning system. Earthquakes,

for instance, cause severe destruction in the

built environment in only a few seconds, and

sometimes they trigger further disasters such as

tsunamis, landslides, fires, and explosions (for

example Fukushima Nuclear leakage in 2011).

Nonetheless, they are considered rapid-onset

disasters that require urgent intervention and

preparation can simply improve the coping with

strategies in most cases. Some geophysical

disasters can cause hydrological disasters too.

For example, a volcanic eruption emits a great

amount of sulphur dioxide that the reaction in

the atmosphere creates acid rains afterward

(for example Kilauea eruption in 2018).

However, not all geophysical disasters are

bound to a hydrological, meteorological, or

climatological disaster. The latter three can

occur alone resulting from a serial formation of

natural events. According to the EM-DAT

Database in 2020 (Table 1), the total number of

natural disasters reported around the world

significantly increased between 1970 and 2019.

Figure 1. Types of natural disasters and their effect size.

Floods and extreme weather events have the

largest shares among the others (including

earthquakes, and landslides) and have

witnessed a remarkable increase from the year

2000 and onwards. Extreme weather events,

mostly refer to heat waves and hailstorms,

where floods occur mainly due to extreme

precipitation, coastal storms, and sea-level rise.

Generally, the upsurge in the numbers of

disasters reported can be explained by the fact

that technology and communication have

made it easier to undertake monitoring unlike

before. However, the rise of the frequencies in

the occurrence of floods and extreme weather

events cannot be simply explained by this fact

since other types of disasters (such as

earthquakes and landslides) do not follow such

an increasing frequency. This draws attention to

climate change where research from the USA

showed that since 1950, extreme precipitation

events increased in 193 out of 244 cities across

the country, particularly in the Southeast lands.

This is explained by the fact that as global

warming causes more evaporation from water

resources (such as oceans and lakes), it results

in the atmosphere containing 4% more water

molecules than the usual average

(Climate Central, 2019). The debate intensified

after the 1990s, although the issue is mostly

rooted back to the 19th century during the first

industrial revolution. As such, it took decades to

convince world populations and the respective

governments that the concern was real since

some events were accompanied by evidence.

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 49

Today, global temperature rise, warming

oceans, shrinking ice sheets, glacial retreat,

decreased snow cover, sea-level rise, declining

arctic sea ice, extreme events and ocean

acidification are deemed evidence of climate

change by the National Aeronautics and

Space Administration. Hence, climate change

is a collective term and global warming is a

large part of it. IPCC, as a result, reported that

the global surface temperature will rise by

between 1 to 3.5 Celsius degree by the year

2100. However, it was only between 2006 and

2015, when it increased by 0.87 Celsius degree.

At this point, the Paris Agreement was

introduced in December 2015 to campaign

against global warming by keeping the rise of

the global surface temperature below 2 Celsius

degrees by the end of the current century. This

goal is strongly linked with the prevention of

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the

atmosphere, which mainly refers to carbon

dioxide and methane gases. An early study by

Tyndall in 1859 discovered that carbon dioxide

significantly absorbs solar radiation (Hulme,

2009). Consequently, its accumulation in the

atmosphere is responsible for global warming.

Table 1 presents a summary of the natural

disasters reported on the global scale between

1970 and 2019.

Table 1. Natural disasters were reported on a global scale

between 1970 and 2019. Year Floods Extreme

weather

Drought Earthquake Landslide

1970 31 24 2 11 5

1975 17 28 - 4 5

1980 39 42 14 24 4

1985 58 51 3 22 6

1990 60 137 12 43 4

1995 94 81 6 26 16

2000 157 102 27 30 28

2005 193 130 20 25 13

2010 184 94 17 24 32

2015 160 118 28 23 20

2019 170 85 15 32 22

Source: Adapted with modifications from the EMDAT 2020

Database.

Because of the relationship between GHG

emission, global warming and climate change

(Figure 2), most of the environmental initiatives

target the reduction of carbon dioxide emission

as much as possible. The built environment

makes a great contribution to the total GHG

emissions worldwide. According to ISOCARP

(2018), “cities occupy only 2% of the world’s

land surface, consume 75% of natural resources,

produce 50% of global waste and account for

60-80% of GHG emissions”. In more detail, IPCC

(2014) reported that buildings’ share in the total

global final energy use accounted for 32 % and

19 % of energy-related GHG emissions (Lucon et

al., 2015). The report also revealed that energy

consumption is largely used for space heating

both in residential and commercial buildings.

This is followed by cooking in residential

buildings and electricity use for powering

equipment in commercial buildings (Figure 3).

On a larger scale, urban areas’ consumption of

global final energy use ranges between 71% to

76% (Seto et al., 2014).

Figure 2. The interrelation between GHG emission, global

warming, and climate change.

Needless to mention that the share must have

risen in the past decade on the account of the

number of building stock that increased

towards the end of the year 2020. Urban built

environment is therefore seen as a key driver in

combatting climate change. IPCC, therefore,

notes that adopting new technological options,

changing design practices, and behavioural

changes can lead to large reductions in

building energy consumption. In this case, if it is

a new building, such an initiative can result in an

energy saving of up to 90%, and if it is a building

with alterations, it can save up to 75% of its total

energy consumption. Architects and urban

planners should, therefore, use adopt a

different paradigm that takes cognizance of

the environmental impacts during the design to

the construction process, and the potential

contribution in energy consumption and GHG

emission. The current plans and designs of

buildings should, therefore, take into account

the measures that would eliminate the

anticipated environmental impacts. Figure 3

shows the shares in the final energy

consumption in residential and commercial use.

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 50

Figure 3. The chart shows the shares in the final energy consumption in residential and commercial use.

Source: Adapted with modifications from IPCC (2014)

2 . Materials and Methods

The generic design discourse has been

updated since climate change has become a

central focus in the built environment. A go-

green revolution is, therefore, being promoted

for cities(Grey, 2018). Accordingly, new radical

cities are built, or existing ones undergo radical

changes. For example, Low Carbon Liveable

Cities Initiatives by the World Bank (2009)

support the model of low-carbon cities in

developing countries. Besides, eco-cities, zero

carbon, or carbon-neutral cities are models

being developed as a strategy for promoting

the concept of a sustainable city.

This paper, therefore, reviews case studies of

various ‘new’ urban approaches. The examples

include the Masdar City project in Abu Dhabi,

Sponge Cities interventions in Chinese cities,

and further examples from different countries

that aim to be carbon-neutral, self-energy

sufficient and ecological cities ideally. The

paper also highlights key features in the design

of the projects and thereafter examines a list of

strategies commonly adopted. The current

study further reviews the cases from the

qualitative approach, which focuses on the

outstanding design features and their expected

environmental benefit on residents. A

conclusion is finally made on the most

appropriate design.

3 . Ideal Cities vs. Energy Consumption

3.1 Masdar City

In 2006, Abu Dhabi’s authorities were motivated

by the green energy concept and had the

vision to prepare the Emirate for a possible post-

oil energy era. Masdar City was planned to be

a zero-carbon eco-city, which aimed to keep

the amount of carbon emission at zero. To

achieve this, the city adopted the vernacular

Arabic architecture and utilized all the required

cutting-edge technology through solar power

panels to produce energy in sustaining the

complex (Günel, 2019).

The City was planned to host 40 thousand

people and 50 thousand commuters daily with

the entire project was planned to be

completed by the year 2016. Unlikely, in 2015

the population of the City was still only

composed of graduates and students at the

Masdar Institute and some employees that

were less than two thousand (Lee, Braithwaite,

Leach, & Rogers, 2016). However, the

completion date of the project was delayed

until 2030 due to the various crises and

challenging conditions that affected the

project. During the process, the project

evolved, and the goal did not remain the same.

Masdar City still plans to be a low-carbon city.

In this context, the energy sources of the City

were diversified into photovoltaic panels (53%),

concentrated solar power (26%), evacuated

thermal cube collector (14%), and waste reuse

(7%) to provide it fully self-sustained

(Afkhamiaghda, 2015). At the same time, more

than 22-hectares-of-land are fully occupied

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 51

with solar panels which generate power to the

City, needless to say, that local dust storms

occasionally block the area. Apart from the

benefits of the traditional Arabic city layout,

which provides shade during the day over the

streets and prevents overheating, the City was

also built on a raised ground for 7-8 meters to

maximize its exposure to the cooling winds and

decrease the need for air conditioning. Waste

management was as well significant for the

project since the target was zero-waste. The

waste was categorized under the categories of

compostable bio-waste, non-recyclable, and

recyclable (Manghnani & Bajaj, 2014). 96% of

construction waste was either reused or

recycled (Mezher, Dawelbait, & Tsai, 2016). In

buildings, while energy consumption is 56%, that

of clean water consumption is 54%, less than

any other conventional building. Inflatable ETFE

cushions were used on the Laboratory building

facades to barrier the heat transfer from outside

and the Arabic latticework was applied on the

concrete facades to provide shade to the

interiors (Patel & Griffiths, 2013).

Besides, all the buildings in the City must meet

a minimum 3-Pearl rating according to the

Estidama Pearl Building Rating System, which is

Administered by the Abu Dhabi Department

of Municipalities and Transport (3-Pearl

Estidama rating is comparable to the LEED Gold

international green building certification).

Nevertheless, it remains arguable whether the

Masdar City project was promoted to the extent

that it seemed unrealistic or a failure to some.

Nevertheless, by 2019, only 10% of the entire

project had been completed. Although it was

planned to be a car-free city by replacing fuel-

based transportation system with driverless

Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system (Figure 4),

today electric vehicles and shuttles actively on

the City roads of (Patel & Griffiths, 2013). From

the humanistic perspective, it has been

observed that the process was purposefully

government-controlled instead of taking the

concerns and desires of the local community

(Lau, 2012).

Buletti and des Noisetiers (2011) argued that the

architecture of the city and the use of high-tech

applications (for example facades and large

roof decorated with solar panels) was to draw

an attractive image for scientific community

members, and the very polished renders were

to attract the luxury-interested society members

so that it creates its own selected gated

community under an eco-city roof. Similarly,

Cugurullo (2013) argued that the City was

planned from a business aspect (mainly

technology-based funds flow) leaving the

social aspects behind. A study by Kherdeen

(2016) also maintained that the timeline

allowed for the project was too unrealistic that

made it impossible for its objective to be

attained owing to the lack of research in its

development phase. Figure 4 shows the

conception section of the Masdar HQ, the

biggest office building in the City, and the

distance by walk to LRT (light rail transport) and

PRT.

Figure 4. The conception section of the Masdar HQ, the

biggest office building in the City and the distance by walk

to LRT (light rail transport) and PRT (personal rail transport).

3.2 Chinese Eco-Cities

As the country that has the largest population,

China makes attempts to solve the problems of

urban settlements. In the past decades, the

Chinese government channelled its economic

resources into building sustainable cities, and

eco-cities projects. By the year 2015, more than

a hundred cities were planned to be

transformed into eco-cities and more than 250

to be eco-city or low-carbon city (Caprotti,

Springer, & Harmer, 2015). Dongtan eco-city

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 52

and Tianjin eco-city are the two examples that

are highly discussed in the literature. Tianjin eco-

city (Figure 5) is deemed the “flagship national

eco-city Project” on the east coast of China.

The project was jointly developed by the

Chinese and Singaporean governments

(Caprotti et al., 2015). The idea of the project

was initiated in 2007, and by the end of 2008,

the Master Plan of the City had been finalized.

The City planned to be home to 350 thousand

residents and also provide job opportunities for

190 thousand by 2020. The energy sources were

diversified to include solar, geothermal, and

wind. Like in Masdar City, a solar panel site was

built outside the Tianjin eco-city to power the

offices. Wind turbines were mounted to

supplement the solar panels. Additionally,

geothermal energy was introduced and used

to power the administration building with 50

pumps. The electricity and the pumps were

powered by the energy produced by the solar

panels.

The waste management problem in bathrooms

was solved with the use of ecological taps and

toilet flushes that ensured minimum waste.

Large lawn areas and porous ground allowed

for the reuse of rainwater. For the cleanliness of

the urban environment, the pneumatic rubbish

collection system was configured. However,

because the system was found complicated at

first by the residents, they disliked it(Li,

Bonhomme, & Deroubaix, 2018). The City’s

layout was planned with a walking distance of

400 meters to enable the residents to easily

access public amenities, clinics, markets,

kindergarten, and primary school. In this way,

energy consumption based on transportation

needs was diminished in the inner city (Yao &

Chong, 2010). The public transportation network

was established with light rails, hybrid and

electric bus systems. For the residential building

stock, high-rise buildings that had 20 to 30 stores

were preferred. The land selected for the

project development was mainly grey and

brownfield areas (Chang, 2017).

Since Tianjin a city facing water scarcity, the

Tianjin Municipality Ecological City

Development has adopted local codes and

regulations to force water conservation, water-

saving technologies in seawater desalination,

wastewater treatment, water reuse, and flood

and storm management (World Bank, 2009)

While Tianjin eco-city was realised, the

development of Dongtan eco-city was, on the

other hand, was postponed until. ARUP was

consequently hired in 2005 to design and

construct the project. It was aimed to have 60%

less ecological footprint, 60% less energy

consumption and to emit almost no carbon

dioxide while producing 40% of the total energy

required. The City was planned to have three

villages to host 500 thousand people. In

Dongtan, all vehicles in transportation would run

on batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. An alluvial

island was chosen for the development which

was home to the migratory water birds. For the

residential blocks, low-rise buildings (four to

eight stories) were preferred, unlike Tianjin.

Chang (2017) argued that the lessons learned

from the failed dream of the Dongtan eco-city

gave birth to a rather successful example,

Tianjin. However, Caprotti et al. (2015) criticized

that the project of Tianjin was a design with high

reference to countries of Singapore and Taipei,

fashioning the eco-city and thus, attracting

people from a wealthy background. Figure 5

illustrates the view of Tianjin from the riverside.

Figure 5. The view of Tianjin from the riverside and the

location map (Source: Google Maps).

3.3 Chinese Sponge Cities

Urban water management includes rainwater,

groundwater, wastewater, and clean water

management. The concept of Sponge Cities

mainly focuses on water management

regarding the control of rainwater,

groundwater, and riverbeds. It is about

preventing water-related disasters such as

floods due to heavy rainfalls. The “sponge”

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 53

defines the process of absorbing water and

control it through and release it when

necessary. China launched the program in late

2014, to reuse 70% of rainwater. While by 2020,

the goal was to achieve this in 20% of the cities,

further, by 2030, the goal is to reach 80% of the

cities across the country (Huang, Shen, &

Mardin, 2019). Therefore, the project targets the

urban areas, primarily under the risk of flooding.

It first begins with harvesting the rainwater at the

building scale. Roads and office buildings

collect, purify, and reuse rainwaters. The goal is

to decrease the pressure on the drainage

system. Hence, the difference between eco-

city and sponge city is that eco-city focuses on

the energy consumption in all kinds, whereas

sponge city focuses on the rainwater

management to prevent possible flooding of

the human settlements in cities. In 2015, 16 pilot

cities were selected for implementation,

including Wuhan, Chongqing, and Xiamen, and

in 2016 another 14 cities were added to the list,

including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and

Shenzhen (Zevenbergen, Fu, & Pathirana, 2018).

For example, Yanweizhou Park in Jinhua City,

Zhejiang Province of China (Figure 6), is one of

the examples designed by Dr. Yu Kongjian,

founder and Principal Designer of Turenscape

and Dean of the College of Architecture and

Landscape Architecture at Peking University. To

build a resilient park, the bridge was elevated

above the ground based on a 200-year flood

level and approaching to 700 m long, the

bridge provides a connection of the island with

no blockage during the wet season as well (Toh,

2018).

Figure 6. The view of Yanweizhou Park during the dry

season on the left, wet season on the right. Source: (Toh,

2018).

To give another example, Yangtze Riverfront

Park in Wuhan was completed in 2018. Wuhan

had the worst rainfall events of its past 18 years

from 2016. Since the river was the main reason

for flooding, to achieve a resilient urban area, 7

km long Beach Park fully covered with

vegetation was designed as a buffer zone

between the buildings and the riverside.

Because the river culture was very common in

Wuhan, the Park created was designed as a

promenade that the public would enjoy

walking and skating.

Figure 7. The Riverside renders for both sides and the closer

rendering of the area.

Source: Sasaki Associates (2020)

3.4 Low-Carbon Society and City

Japan started the move ‘Low-Carbon Society’

in 2013, and since then made ‘City-to-City’

collaborations with other Asian countries to

exchange know-how technologies and to lead

the process overseas. Today, there are 25 cities

in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,

Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and

Viet Nam, which are co-operating with 12

Municipalities in Japan, including Hokkaido,

Sapporo, Toyama, Fukushima, Kyoto, Kobe,

Osaka, Kanagawa, Kawasaki, Yokohama,

Tokyo, and Kitakyushu.

The cities in Japan are urged to take action

according to the Act on Promotion of Global

Warming Countermeasures. Japan’s target is to

reduce carbon emission by 26% by 2030, and

80% by 2050.

Yokohama city aims not only to reduce carbon

emission but also to transform the city into a

smart city. Yokohama was selected in 2010 as

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 54

the lead in Smart City Project, and after 2015 the

city began to apply the measures, which target

energy efficiency in the transportation network,

improved disaster prevention capabilities,

better environmental performance, and at last

gain economic efficiency as well (Akagi, 2018).

Based on the data from 2017, the energy

industry contributes to carbon emission by 22%,

commercial buildings by 21% and residential

buildings by 22%. Transportation system

contributes by 19% and various industry

contribution is 11% (Akagi, 2018). Accordingly,

the City aims to reduce GHG emission amount

by 30% per person by 2025, and by 2050 the

goal is to reach 60%. Regarding the built

environment, the new buildings must meet the

energy conservation standards, and to build

greenhouses, low-interest loans are made

available (UNESCAP, 2012). According to C40

International Initiative, the transportation

network was planned to be adjusted based on

non-fuel vehicles. The City provided two

thousand electric vehicles and provided

charging stations as well. Besides, across the

borders of Yokohama city, solar power

generation in 249 locations, wind power

generation in 2 locations, hydropower

generation in 3 locations, and biomass power

generation in 6 locations will be implemented

(C40 Cities, 2014). Nonetheless, the municipality

was also aware of the fact that without

informing the residents, the achievement

cannot be realized. Hence, within a school

project, 418 lectures were held for 35,000

participants to sensitize them about the change

the city was about to experience.

4. Turkey and the Case of Istanbul

Turkey is the 20th largest GHG emitter in the

world (Timperley, 2018). The main natural

resource used for energy production is coal.

There are 15 thermal plants across the country

producing electricity power by consuming the

coal reserves (Kiliç, 2006). However, as a

developing country, Turkey imports other kinds

of sources as well, including natural gas and oil,

given that the country neighbours Iran, and

close to Azerbaijan, Russia, as also the leading

fossil energy exporter countries in the world.

Other than coal, hydro dams are also electric

energy providers of the country. Although the

country could benefit from solar and wind

energy, it does not have large energy plants.

Differently, a nuclear plant is under construction

in Akkuyu, Mersin, the south coast, since 2017

and is planned to start operation in 2023. A

second plant is under bureaucratic progress for

Sinop, the Black Sea coast. The third one in

İğneada, the northwest coast, is still under

design. In 2010, Turkey published a targeted to

increase the production of electricity from

renewable resources by 30% in 2023. Regarding

transportation, the aim is to upscale renewable

energy by at least 10% by 2023 (Timperley,

2018).

Turkey is an earthquake-prone country due to

geophysical conditions. However, in the past

decades, the country also began experiencing

severe floods and landslides in the cities, due to

climatological changes. Istanbul, as the largest

metropolitan city in the country, experienced

more often than before such disasters after

heavy rainfalls. The floods are the result of the

combination of the increased water flow in the

Bosphorus and the insufficient underground

stormwater drainage systems in the city (Figure

8). The densely built environment also prevents

the flow of rainwater through the underground

owing to the absence of green areas (Turoğlu,

2011). Although the city has experienced

several flood events, the most memorable one

was in September 2009. In this case, the

Ayamama River basin overflowed, and the

flood affected a large area, including the

motorway as well as the settlements. The flood

caused the death of 31 people (Reyes-

Acevedo, Flacke, & Brussel, 2011).

Figure 8. The floods cause to the scenes that the citizens

were neither familiar with nor prepared before (Istanbul).

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 55

5. Discussion and Conclusions

Sustainable projects are long-term projections,

consequently, they require huge investments

because they involve multiple stakeholders who

invest and take an active role during their

operation (Zhan, De Jong, & De Bruijn, 2018) The

local authorities should hence recognise this

fact. From the cited examples, it is now more

apparent that the built environment forms a key

determinant in climate change through carbon

emission. As already observed, the first goal is to

reduce this outcome. For that reason, the

measures taken as a start should be to adopt an

electricity-powered system in favour of fossil-

based energy heating resources, mostly by

operating solar panels. The second measure

concerns water management. This is because

although rainwater could be recycled and

reused, it has the potential to attract disasters.

In terms of increasing the consumption of clean

water resources, rainwater should be

managed, as in the case of Sponge Cities.

Further, sea-level rise, as mentioned earlier, is a

big problem for the seaside cities, in addition to

the heavy rainfalls that cause an overflow in

riverbeds. Hence, these cities should have a

buffer zone in the form of the embankment to

let the water inundate to a possible level and

distance (based on the estimations of the

previous years). The buildings in the city layout

should, therefore, be sited according to this

proposal in a re-study master plan. Besides,

green parks and open areas with porous

pavement should be designed so that the rain

flows down through the ground.

Additionally, because transportation systems

require a significant amount of energy, this

should be replaced with hybrid systems, and

more likely to be electrically powered. About

Turkey (Table 2), the taxation system should be

improved to promote the use of hybrid cars and

electric cars. As such, fossil fuel-based vehicles

in the public transport system should be

replaced with hybrid and electric options. Just

like in Japan, the urban community should be

sensitized on their footprint on the environment

by placing info-points around the central areas

and possibly in the bus stops, and train stations.

Both thermal insulation and greywater systems

should be promoted in buildings. Particularly,

concerning new residential and office buildings,

the amount of clean water supplied from the

grid should be equal to the amount recycled

and within the facility. In the same way, since

electricity supply is largely dependent on the

grid, solar panels should be built on rooftops

and in the façade systems for the high-rise

buildings. Through this way, the contractors and

residents would be obliged to install such

systems in the buildings, as opposed to the

conventional systems since they are cheaper.

Nevertheless, it is noteworthy to state that like in

the example of Masdar City, instead of building

a new settlement, which requires bigger

budgets, improving the existing cities and their

infrastructure would be the better option since

there will also be ownership by residents who

would, in the long run, want to experience an

improved built environment. In conclusion,

Table 2 shows the reasons why floods are

frequent in Istanbul, the mega-city of Turkey.

Table 2. The of reasons to have floods frequently in Istanbul, the mega-city of Turkey.

Factors Reasons

Buildings

The most densely used urban area,

The seaside is the most valuable area (in terms of estate value),

Mass concrete construction is widespread in the city,

Which increases the heat felt and affect urban walkability,

Use of natural gas, coal for heating is common for residential and official

buildings,

Building construction still follows conventional approaches,

Building stock is largely old, hence use of air-conditioner is spread,

Building Energy Performance is widely understood as heat insulation, and least

as reduced electricity consumption,

Consumption of clean water is dependent on the grid, reuse systems are very

rare.

Infrastructure

Surrounded by the Black Sea, the Marmara Sea and Bosphorus.

Suffer insufficient rain-drainage systems ends up with floods,

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 56

Insufficient green lands in the urban layout that decrease the porosity of the

ground,

As a crowded city, metro lines are being expanded newly, but not the

underground waterlines.

People tend to use their cars instead of taking public transport,

Transportation

The largest number of vehicles in transportation,

Fuel based car use has the largest percentage, hybrid cars are still new, in the

market and electric charging stops are insufficient,

Bicycle use is promoted only in few districts, bicycle riding paths do not exist in

many districts.

Human

behaviour

The largest population in the country, almost 16 million,

Even in the dry summer season, people like to wash their cars to keep them clean

without caring for resources,

Women often wash carpets,

Municipalities wash the streets.

Acknowledgement

This research did not receive any specific grant

from funding agencies in the public,

commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflict of interests

The author declares no conflict of interest.

References

Adamo, S. B. (2011). Slow-onset hazards and population

displacement in the context of climate change. Center

for International Human Rights, John Jay College of

Criminal Justice, CUNY, New York Liaison Office,

UNHCR April, 27, 2011. Retrieved from

http://www.ciesin.org/documents/Adamo_CCMig_c

uny_april2011.pdf

Afkhamiaghda, M. (2015). A Case Study of Masdar

City: Feasibility of adapting Masdar city to Yazd,

Iran. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mahdi_Afkha

miaghda/publication/311426850_A_Case_Study_of

_Masdar_City/links/5845b69b08ae8e63e628675b.p

df

Akagi, J. (2018). Low Carbon City Profile: Climate

Change Actions by Asian Cities in the City-to-City

Collaboration Programme.

https://www.iges.or.jp/en/publication_documents/pu

b/books/en/6495/Low-

carbon_City_Profile_e_180313.pdf

Buletti, N., & des Noisetiers, C. (2011). An analysis of

Masdar City’s communication strategy. Retrieved

from

http://www.unifr.ch/geoscience/geographie/assets/fil

es/bachelor-theses/buletti_tpg_2011avril.pdf

C40 Cities. (2014). Yokohama: Yokohama Smart City

Project. from https://www.c40.org/profiles/2014-

yokohama

Caprotti, F., Springer, C., & Harmer, N. (2015). ‘Eco’

For Whom? Envisioning Eco-urbanism in the Sino-

Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, China. International

Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 39(3), 495-

517. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.12233

Chang, I. C. C. (2017). Failure matters: Reassembling

eco-urbanism in a globalizing China. Environment

and Planning A: Economy and Space, 49(8), 1719-

1742. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X16685092

Climate Central. (2019) Pouring It On: How Climate

Change Intensifies Heavy Rain Events Retrieved

from

https://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/May2019_Rep

ort_PouringItOn.pdf?pdf=PouringItOn-Report

Cugurullo, F. (2013). How to Build a Sandcastle: An

Analysis of the Genesis and Development of Masdar

City. Journal of Urban Technology, 20(1), 23-37.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2012.735105

Grey, F. A. (2018). Masdar City as a Prototype for Eco-

Cities. Digest of Middle East Studies, 27(2), 261-277.

https://doi.org/10.1111/dome.12138

Günel, G. (2019). Spaceship in the Desert: Energy,

climate change, and urban design in Abu Dhabi:

Duke University Press.

https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478002406.

Huang, G., Shen, Z., & Mardin, R. (2019). Overview of

Urban Planning and Water-Related Disaster

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 57

Management. In G. Huang & Z. Shen (Eds.), Urban

Planning and Water-related Disaster Management

(pp. 1-10). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90173-2_1

Hulme, M. (2009). On the origin of ‘the greenhouse

effect’: John Tyndall's 1859 interrogation of nature.

Weather, 64(5), 121-123.

https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.386

ISOCARP. (2018). Climate Change Planning. Paper

presented at the 54th ISOCARP International

Congress, Bodø, Norway.

Kherdeen, R. M. (2016). Masdar City: Oriental City of

the Twenty-First Century. Master's degree thesis,

director: Jean-Louis Cohen, Institute of Fine Arts

New York University. Retrieved from

https://www.academia.edu/25117909/Masdar_City_

Oriental_City_of_the_Twenty-First_Century

Kiliç, A. M. (2006). Turkey's Main Energy Sources and

Importance of Usage in Energy Sector. Energy

Exploration & Exploitation, 24(1-2), 1-17.

https://doi.org/10.1260/014459806779388001

Lau, A. (2012). Masdar City: A model of urban

environmental sustainability. Hentet, 8(1), 77-82.

Lee, S. E., Braithwaite, P., Leach, J. M., & Rogers, C. D.

F. (2016). A comparison of energy systems in

Birmingham, UK, with Masdar City, an embryonic

city in Abu Dhabi Emirate. Renewable and

Sustainable Energy Reviews, 65, 1299-1309.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.07.019

Li, Y., Bonhomme, C., & Deroubaix, J.-F. (2018). Can a

Sustainable Urban Development Model be Exported?

Construction of the “Exemplary” Tianjin Eco-city.

China Perspectives, 2018(2018/1-2), 87-97.

https://doi.org/10.4000/chinaperspectives.7821

Lucon, O., Urge-Vorsatz, D., Zain Ahmed, A., Akbari,

H., Bertoldi, P., Cabeza, L. F., & Krey, V. (2015).

Buildings. In Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of

Climate Change: Cambridge University Press.

Manghnani, N., & Bajaj, K. (2014). Masdar City: A

Model of Urban Environmental Sustainability.

Journal of Engineering Research and Applications,

4(10), 38-42. Retrieved from

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/25523393.pdf

Mezher, T., Dawelbait, G., & Tsai, I. (2016). Building

Eco-Cities of the Future: The Example of Masdar

City. Int. J. of Thermal & Environmental

Engineering, 12(1), 1-8.

https://doi.org/10.5383/ijtee.12.01.001

Patel, P., & Griffiths, S. (2013). Masdar City showcases

sustainability. MRS Bulletin, 38(6), 450-451.

https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2013.140

Reyes-Acevedo, M. A., Flacke, J., & Brussel, M. J. G.

(2011, 2011). Urban flash flood vulnerability. Paper

presented at the IGS - SENSE Conference 2011.

Seto, K. C., Dhakal, S., Bigio, A., Blanco, H., Delgado,

G. C., Dewar, D., & Lwasa, S. (2014). Human

settlements, infrastructure and spatial planning.

Climate change 2014: Mitigation of climate change.

In Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth

Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel

on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom

and New York, NY, USA.

Timperley, J. (2018). The Carbon Brief Profile. Carbon

Brief Ltd.

Toh, F. (2018). Turenscape: Creating Sponge Cities.

from

https://www.indesignlive.sg/people/turenscape-

creating-sponge-cities

Turoğlu, H. (2011). Flashfloods and floods in Istanbul.

Ankara Üniversitesi Çevrebilimleri Dergisi, 3(1), 39-

46. https://doi.org/10.1501/csaum_0000000043

World Bank. (2009). Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City :

A Case Study of an Emerging Eco-City in China W.

Bank. Washington, DC. Retrieved from

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986

/28143

Yao, P. C., & Chong, L. C. (2010). Planning Strategies

for Leading Energy Efficient and Sustainable City

Development, The Second China Energy Scientist

Forum.

Zevenbergen, C., Fu, D., & Pathirana, A. (2018).

Transitioning to sponge cities: challenges and

opportunities to address urban water problems in

China. Wate, 10(9), 1230.

https://doi.org/10.3390/w10091230

Zhan, C., De Jong, M., & De Bruijn, H. (2018). Funding

sustainable cities: A comparative study of sino-

singapore tianjin eco-city and shenzhen international

low-carbon city. Sustainability, 10(11), 4256.

https://doi.org/10.3390/su10114256

JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 5(1), 47-58/ 2021

Dr. Didem Gunes Yilmaz 58

How to Cite this Article:

Yilmaz, D. G. (2021). Model Cities for Resilience: Climate-led Initiatives. Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, 5(1), 47-58.

https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2021.v5n1-4