Istanbul's Atatürk Airport City Park, the world’s fifth-largest and the country’s biggest park, opened its doors Thursday for visitors to walk among its 145,300 newly planted trees on 13,000 meters (42,650 feet) of pavement.
Spanning an area of approximately 2 million square meters, Istanbul’s most extensive public park on the former aviation hub Atatürk Airport offers a way to escape from the city’s crowds, traffic and noise.
Construction of the park, also denoted as the "Green Corridor of Istanbul," started in May 2022 and is 95% completed, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said.
With the aim of promoting a "green" Istanbul, the park offers zero-waste workshops, playgrounds, libraries, concert halls, soup kitchens, family facilities and various health activities for adults and children. The city park also hosts an area representing the conquest of Istanbul, consisting of over 145,000 trees, including 350-year-old olive trees and 50 to 60-year-old linden and plane trees.
The former airport turned city park has a 2.5-kilometer-long artificial stream called "Ab-ı Hayat Suyu" flowing from its south to its north, observation terraces, picnic and relaxation areas, and bicycle and walking paths along the creek to aid in the relaxation of minds.
The city park will be accessible from nine entrance points. Also home to greenhouses, citizens will be able to benefit from organic products grown in the park's facilities.
The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has opened 15 national parks in Istanbul, with the construction of 27 national parks ongoing. Across the country in general, within the scope of the significant green initiative undertaken by the authorities in recent years, the construction of 314 national gardens continues. While 484 public garden projects have been delivered nationwide, the ministry aims to reach 200 million square meters of green space by 2028.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that cities have 15-20 square meters of green space per person and 20 square meters in developed nations. For Türkiye to attain this level, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan established the National Gardens project to enhance green space.
Research shows that spending time in a park, community garden or other urban green space three and four times a week can cut people’s chances of taking medication for anxiety or depression by a third. In addition, visiting green spaces reduces the chances of a city resident having to take asthma or high blood pressure medication by a third and a quarter, respectively.