Speaking at a session of the COP31 summit in Antalya, southern Türkiye, on Thursday, Minister of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change Murat Kurum shared Türkiye’s vision for resilient cities at the summit.
“We are ready to share this reconstruction and urban planning experience with others to create joint solutions,” he said.
Speaking at the “Leaders’ Event on Urban Resilience, Adaptation and Climate Action” held at the Mediterranean Hall in the COP31 Zone, Kurum said floods, droughts and extreme temperatures threaten housing, production and public health.
Stressing that a city’s strength is measured by how safe its people feel, Kurum said he considers climate adaptation central to development policies. Kurum emphasized that, as the COP31 president, he aims to turn collective determination into tangible results on the ground and bring commitments together with projects and investments that improve people's lives.
“During this process, central and local governments must move in the same direction. Therefore, as we build resilient cities, we must protect nature, strengthen infrastructure and ensure the continuity of essential services. Our plans must meet today's needs while also taking tomorrow's risks into account,” he said.
Noting that Türkiye had experienced the meaning of this responsibility through an extremely difficult test, Kurum recalled that the earthquakes on Feb. 6, 2023, whose epicenter was Kahramanmaraş, devastated an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers (about 42,471 square miles) across 11 provinces, home to 14 million people.
Kurum said the area affected by the earthquakes was comparable in size to Bulgaria or Iceland and had a population nearly five times that of Lithuania, making it larger than many European countries.
Stating that all state resources had been mobilized for the people under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Kurum continued: “Within the reconstruction drive of the century, we completed and handed over 455,000 homes, village houses and workplaces to their rightful owners in just two years. We did not merely build homes. We also rebuilt roads, infrastructure, squares and marketplaces. We took care to preserve the historical fabric, neighborhood culture and collective memory of our cities. This major mobilization has given us valuable experience. We did not consider disaster risks, energy efficiency, water, transportation and public services separately. We addressed safe housing and strong infrastructure alongside environmentally friendly design and social life. We built all the homes using energy-efficient, zero-waste-compliant and climate-friendly materials. Through this approach, we have also set an example for the world.”
Kurum said this understanding underpinned the resilient cities meetings launched in Hatay (one of the provinces affected by the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes), adding that they viewed the common determination demonstrated in the province in May as a road map extending from post-disaster recovery to lasting transformation.
Recalling that they had brought municipalities together around the same goal in Ankara in August, Kurum said they had discussed measuring water losses, improving energy and waste management, and identifying risks at the neighborhood level. He stressed that every finding should be translated into an actionable project.
Kurum said another prerequisite for making cities stronger was ensuring that everyone had access to safe and affordable housing.
Reporting that they had built approximately 1.75 million homes through the Housing Development Administration of Türkiye (TOKI) to date, Kurum said they were working to provide 500,000 new social housing units across all 81 provinces under the Century of Housing Project.
“We are also implementing a social rental housing model in Istanbul. Our aim is to make it easier for low-income families to access safe and livable homes. Our reconstruction efforts in the earthquake-hit region and our social housing initiative serve the same goal: securing the present of our people and building their future on stronger foundations,” he said.
Kurum underlined that well-designed plans and strong political will must be backed by adequate financing, noting that the most vulnerable communities facing climate risks often have the most limited resources. Pointing out that adaptation was therefore also a matter of solidarity, he said, “Adaptation financing must be adequate, predictable and accessible. Grants and concessional financing should take into account countries' needs and the capacities of local governments. In particular, small and medium-sized cities must be given greater access to technical expertise, reliable risk data and project development support. I call on financial institutions to give greater consideration to avoided losses and the social benefits generated when assessing adaptation investments. To this end, we launched the Sustainable Urban Resilience Financing Facility (SURFF) in New York in September. In cooperation with ILBANK, U.N.-Habitat and the World Bank, we aim to match the priorities of our cities with investment-ready projects. Today, in Antalya, we want to take this experience further through broader and more concrete partnerships.”
Kurum stressed that they should leave COP31 with a shared commitment, calling for risks to be identified collectively and accurately, priorities to be translated into actionable projects, and financing to reach cities in need in a timely manner.
Calling on international financial institutions, development partners and the private sector to make stronger contributions to these efforts, Kurum said: “As Türkiye, we are ready to share our experience in reconstruction and urban planning and develop joint solutions. As the COP31 presidency, we want to see the results of our efforts reflected in safe homes and strong infrastructure. From Antalya, we are sending the world a clear message: No one should regard safe and resilient cities as a privilege. They are the right of every community and a shared responsibility for all of us.”
