The Minister of Environment and Urban Development of Turkey, Murat Kurum, said that since 2012, 1,410,000 housing objects have undergone planned urban transformation in Turkey. However, according to the minister, about 6.7 million objects are in need of an urgent transformation.
Why transform residential buildings? We have already said that 40 percent of the housing stock in Turkey needs to be strengthened against the threat of earthquakes as 92 percent of Turkey's territory is a seismic risk zone. And while the province of Antalya is located in an area where the threat of devastating earthquakes is zero, other cities and provinces (for example, Istanbul, Ankara and many others) may suffer sometimes from earthquakes. Therefore, since 2012, the implementation of the program for the transformation of apartment buildings has taken place in Turkey.
According to Minister Murat Kurum, about one and a half to two million properties that need to be strengthened are located in Istanbul. Turkey is the only country in the world where urban transformation is proceeding at such a rapid pace. In exchange for emergency or seismically unsafe housing, residents receive apartments in buildings that are resistant even to strong earthquakes.