Global Future Cities Prosperity Fund Programme - Ankara
The Global Future Cities Prosperity Fund Programme supports two projects in Ankara, the capital of Turkey with a population over 5.6 million. The projects complement each other to improve accessibility by promoting sustainable transportation and urban design for increased local prosperity and quality of life.
The first project is the Bicycle Strategy and Masterplan, which aims to introduce the bicycle as a sustainable, affordable and healthy mode of transportation. The project will guide and help the city improve mobility and accessibility and reduce traffic congestion and exhaust emissions by decreasing car dependency, a key issue dominating the urban fabric in Ankara. By adopting an inclusive approach, cycling will help women and other disadvantaged groups access work, education, health services and recreation.
Until now, the programme’s delivery partner in Turkey, Arup has been preparing a strategic framework and a masterplan in collaboration with Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.
The master plan proposes a bicycle network, linking residential areas to major industrial sites, schools, universities and other public areas to offer a low-cost, safe, secure and healthy mode of transportation. It also introduces principles and actions to make bicycles available to all and improve awareness and skills to get people cycling regardless of their age, gender or social status.
The master plan proposes actions for the short, medium and long term with associated costs to provide a clear and step-by-step guide to the City.
The communication strategy prepared for this project includes proposals for awareness raising campaigns and activities.
The second project, Healthy Streets focuses on Cankaya, which is the central district of Ankara, with a population almost 1 million.
The programme is supporting Cankaya Municipality to design clean, safe and healthy public spaces for all using a participatory approach, promoting walking and cycling in order to ease access to public transport and reduce air pollution and noise. An improved sense of community and increased footfall will help small businesses flourish.
In collaboration with Cankaya Municipality, Arup developed a Strategic Plan, which sets out the vision and principles to guide the long-term rehabilitation of streets and public spaces.
The strategic plan proposes 4 goals, 12 actions and 36 sub-actions for a green, resilient, liveable and vibrant district, taking into account the requirements of climate change, mobility, pandemic and recovery.
A participatory approach based on users’ perception and interpretation of their environment was adopted through interactive workshops that exemplify the practice of designing with users and direct participation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Arup facilitates the use of innovative online participation methods with kids, citizens, NGOs and other stakeholders through the digital platforms.
Several stakeholder engagement activities, including meetings, public surveys, face-to-face interviews and online workshops took place before and during the pandemic
To assess the projects’ alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we are using a tool developed by the programme’s strategic partner, UN-Habitat. The tool is tailored for each project in accordance with their scope. Delivery Partner and the municipality evaluate the project’s progress against SDGs using a set of performance indicators. Projects in Ankara have been the first in the world to use the tool. One of the outputs of the exercise, SDG profiles for both projects following the first workshops are presented below. This exercise will be repeated regularly throughout the implementation phase to monitor the progress. Besides demonstrating the projects’ alignment with SDGs, the tool provokes an open discussion between the key stakeholders on the project regularly and help identify opportunities for improvement.
