AT1 – Megacities Report SCAFFOLD

Read through the Task Description included in the Assignment page for Week 3.
Use the marking criteria as a guide.
Conduct research to complete the following research scaffold.
Use the feedback your teacher will provide to you, to improve your report before submitting it for marking
in Week 5.

Report section Your information

INTRODUCTION Location:

 Istanbul is a transcontinental city (it straddles two continents, Europe

and Asia) due to its inland sea Marmara
 The city is divided into four regions and it has a natural harbour, the
Golden Horn
 It is located on the Bosphorus waterway in northwest Turkey between
the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea
 The commercial centre is in Europe whilst the rest of the city is in Asia
 The city boundaries cover a surface area of 1830 kilometres
Population:
 Population early 2021: 15,415,197
 In 1950 the population was 967,497
 Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and also one of the largest
agglomerations in Europe
 It is the fifth largest city in the world (by population within city limits)
 Istanbul has a population density of 2523 people per square kilometre,
a lot larger than Turkeys population density of 102 people per square
kilometre
 The most densely populated district is the Asian side, Uskudar
Migration Statistics:
 Turkey immigration statistics for 2015 was 2,964,916, a 116.89%
increase from 2010
  Turkey immigration statistics for 2010 was 1,367,034, a 3.62% increase
from 2005
 Turkey immigration statistics for 2005 was 1,319,236, a 2.99% increase
from 2000
 Turkey immigration statistics for 2000 was 1,280,963, a 5.33% increase
from 1995
 Syrian refugees have undergone forced migration
Economic Activities:
 Due to its strategical location, Istanbul is the financial capital of Turkey
 The city is accountable for 40% of Turkey’s GDP and its annual
contribution to state budget is 40%
 It is the country’s largest industrial centre, around 20% of the country’s
industrial labour is employed in Istanbul
 The main industrial products of the city are food processing, textile
production, oil products and alcoholic drinks
 Istanbul also is the most significant export gate of Turkey with
respectively 36% of Turkey’s total exportation activity
 Istanbul’s public and private healthcare facilities and medical research
facilities are mostly equipped with high technology equipment
 City receives patients with lower incomes from some European
countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom
Physical and Built Features:
 The Western part of the city is in Europe and the Eastern is in Asia
 This impacts the architecture found in these areas
 One of the most significant attributes of the city are its cross-
continental bridges

METHODOLOGY
(fill in this section last)
What sources (organisations, newspapers, government sites etc) did you use?
 Predominantly I used government sites and newspapers such as the
New York Times and the local Turkish newspaper
How did you find these sources?
 I found these sources through the search engine, using key words to
locate relevant and broad information
Evaluate the sources you used (use the OPVL* model included below):
 The government sites used are local to Turkey and Istanbul, as a result,
although the statistics are reliable, it is likely that the Turkish
government is including information that reflects the way they wish
Istanbul to be perceived
 International newspapers may be influenced by politics and the
relationship that exists between their country and Turkey however, at
the same time, their loyalties do not lie with Turkey, and are not driven
to smooth over Istanbul’s blemishes
 Local newspapers may not be entirely reliable as they are under
pressure from the government and ultimately can be a form of
propaganda in some cases

FINDINGS Factors causing hyper / urbanisation:

 Technology and globalisation are predominant factors lead to
development and crowding in Istanbul
 With this development comes higher job opportunities, better health
and safety services and improved housing system
  These attract people who are living in poor conditions
 Population growth has also been due to Istanbul being one of the most
important port cities for trading for centuries due to its central location
“The inner ring, including district municipalities further to the west
and north of the core on the European side and municipalities on the
Asian side have captured nearly all the growth. From 1985 to 2011,
inner ring district municipalities added 5,000,000 residents. The outer
ring of suburban district municipalities gained 2.5 million residents
with the greatest percentage growth, at nearly 250 percent. There has
also been growth in exurban district municipalities (beyond the urban
area), though it has been much more modest.” (Yildirim, 2017)

(Yildirm, 2017)

ONE SOCIAL challenge that is a result of the hyper/urbanisation in this city?

 Due to unplanned urbanisation over the past decades, the city is now
facing a severe urban transport crisis, including noise pollution, traffic
accidents and traffic congestion
 Mainly due to a limited transport infrastructure, poor public transport
services and a rapid increase in motor vehicle ownership
 Istanbul has only 250 miles of highway infrastructure to handle traffic
whereas London has 435 miles and Los Angeles has 527 miles
 An average driver in Istanbul sits in three weeks’ worth of traffic every
year. This rose by six percent in 2019.
 According to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, most of the
complaints filed by residents of Turkey’s cultural and commercial
capital focused on traffic
 Minibuses have come to form the main body of the public transport
system in Istanbul
 This system has a number of disadvantages compared to the rapid
transit system
EVALUATION One strategy being used to address the social challenge:
Government OR organisation (NGO etc):
 The government has been funding road infrastructure production
 Following the United States’ urban transport mantra of “wider and
more roads” which dates back to the 1900s
 Demonstrated by Turkey’s 2014 urban transport budget

Explain the strategy:

Evaluate whether the strategy is effective / working using criteria (economic

viability, sustainability, social equity)
  The strategy is not effective and is not producing signifcent positive
results
 This is due to the phenomenon of induced demand
“when congestion is high people are more likely to use driving alternatives like
public or active transport. When new roads are opened it increases the supply
of road space, and traffic decreases temporarily. Because traffic is now
slightly better, people get back in their cars, resulting in congestion returning
to normal”


RECOMMENDATIO Recommendation (either to improve existing strategy or suggest a new one):

N  For rapidly expanding cities, a rapid transit system is viewed as an
integral part of minimising traffic congestion
Why are you making this recommendation? How will this be more effective
based on the criteria you used in the previous section?
 The most important feature of the rapid transit system is that it does not
interfere with road or pedestrian traffic, and so is generally the best
public transport option for cities facing the challenges of traffic
congestions
 One of the best rapid transit systems is the metro, enables passengers to
cover long distances in minutes without causing traffic congestion
 The metro is a typical feature of large cities all over the world
 For example, London has 402 kilometres of track which carries
approximately 3 million passengers every day
 Istanbul has only 115 kilometres of track despite the fact that it is one
of the largest cities in the world
 Istanbul has an undeveloped metro network system when compared
with major cities
 A rapid transit system can play a key role in improving existing public
transportation and reducing traffic congestion in Istanbul

BIBLIOGRAPHY (at least 8 sources + Harvard formatting):

References
2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Population-increase-in-
Istanbul-due-to-the-high-level-of-migration_tbl2_248974201> [Accessed 15 February
2021].
Akyuz, E., 2021. The solutions to traffic congestion in Istanbul.
Arcgis.com. 2021. Story Map Journal. [online] Available at:
<https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?
appid=618f712ff80f4d27934c531c4dafbdb5#:~:text=Technology%20and%20globalization
%20might%20be,aspects%20increase%20migration%20to%20Istanbul.> [Accessed 15
February 2021].
Bennett, T., 2021. Do New Roads Reduce Traffic Congestion? | Induced Demand In Australia.
[online] GoGet Carshare. Available at: <https://www.goget.com.au/blog/do-new-roads-
reduce-traffic-congestion/#:~:text=The%20reason%20why%20building%20more,like
%20public%20or%20active%20transport.> [Accessed 15 February 2021].
SABAH, D., 2021. Istanbul among world's top 5 cities most impacted by traffic. [online] Daily
Sabah. Available at: <https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/istanbul/istanbul-among-worlds-
top-5-cities-most-impacted-by-traffic> [Accessed 15 February 2021].
Starr, S., 2021. Will Istanbul’s new underwater highway just add traffic to a gridlocked city?.
[online] the Guardian. Available at:
<https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/oct/06/istanbul-new-underwater-highway-traffic-
gridlocked-city> [Accessed 15 February 2021].
Worldpopulationreview.com. 2021. Istanbul Population 2021 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs).
[online] Available at: <https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/istanbul-
population> [Accessed 15 February 2021].
Yıldırım, A. and Yıldırım, A., 2021. Why Is Istanbul So Crowded?. [online] We Love Istanbul.
Available at: <https://www.weloveist.com/why-is-istanbul-so-crowded#:~:text=The%20city
%20was%20later%20on,point%20in%20the%20city's%20rise.&text=Today%20Istanbul
%20is%20said%20to,more%20than%2016%20million%20people.> [Accessed 15 February
2021].

*OPVL Model for analysing the reliability of sources