In these times where quality is becoming more important than quantity, walkable cities rich with parks and restaurants are integral parts of the industrial policy.

New York has 4500 parks; Istanbul has 428. I am darn sure that Istanbul beats New York in terms of number of contractors, but the picture is the exact opposite with parks.

The New York City Government (NYCG) is the counterpart of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). To take care of urban parks and gardens is among the responsibilities of each. Reading the working reports of the two is a very instructive. Lately, Ozan Acar of TEPAV has been studying the two. Today let me share with you some of the figures he has complied and then state some observations. First, the score at the headline: The number of parks and gardens which have trees, squirrels and flowers in them is 10 times greater in New York than in Istanbul. True, squirrels are not common in Turkey, so I will settle with cats. But the figures are clear: 4500 operational parks in New York compared to 428 in Istanbul. Thanks to all the municipal governments Istanbul has had so far, New York is 10 times better than Istanbul when it comes to public parks and gardens. The same goes for artificial green fields made by the municipalities. The IMM governs an area of 13.5 million people and NYCG that of 8.5 million people. Based on their respective populations, Istanbul evidently should have more public parks than New York, but it does not. New York has more parks and larger man-made green fields than Istanbul. It is governed much better than Istanbul. Let me underscore this, so that we don’t forget it.

Why we should keep this in mind? Elections are around the corner. We will elect the next IMM mayor. So, instead of dealing with idle debates, you can take a look at the election declarations of the parties to learn about their suggestions for parks and green fields. Not only for Istanbul, but for all cities. Istanbulites can ask their local governments to be able to go to a park and get fresh air within a ten-minute walk from their homes. Everyone living in the city, not only the privileged few who live along the Bosporus or in Taksim square should have this opportunity. Just as a car worth $500,000 and a bicycle worth $500 should have the same rights on roads, each and every citizen, irrespective of where they live, should have the right to go out and have their time in green fields, with birds tweeting and cats purring. The gigantic zoning projects of political parties are of interest to a few people who will share in the unearned profits. Parks belong to the people, however. Every resident of the city has right to public parks. There is nothing odd with political parties, mayor and council members having interest in big projects that create profits. Politics is an expensive business. People risk a lot to be elected. They undertake a large burden to keep their seats. That’s why they are inclined to engage in profit distribution. It’s not their fault. It’s that of the voters, who are not able to add up issues that concern all citizens, such as parks and gardens, on the agenda. Elected municipal councils do not bother making cities more habitable as they focus solely on creating profit via zoning regulations. It is the fault of voters. Turkey has discussed many issues from the wrong angle so far. Environment policy is not a romantic debate about bees and birds. It is the projection of energy policy, which is an internal part of industrial policy.

Designing cities where you can walk and rest in parks rather than those where you can only drive is not about environment policy. It is an internal part of industrial policy, as well. People who cannot interact and mingle with others in their daily lives cannot come up with decent ideas and innovations. Innovation processes cannot be advanced in plazas and uptown business centers. Until recently, Turkey’s urban areas had many needs. Now is the time to put public parks and gardens on the list. In these times where quality supersedes quantity, walkable cities rich with parks and restaurants are integral parts of the industrial policy. I will come to this later.

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 31.05.2013