Few Dragon flies from my place

These dragon flies flutter through the city absorbing it bit by bit...

Image source: Ranjit Kandalgaonkar

Image source: Ranjit Kandalgaonkar

Image source: Meena Kadri

Orhan Gancebay's chamber of dreams

settlement network

migrating garden

The Guda

This is a bagpipe like instrument typically played by the Laz people. The Laz people are a small ethnic group in Turkey from the South East of the Black Sea. The area was formerly called Lazistan as part of the Ottoman Empire but is now the two Turkish provinces of Rize and Artvin. There is a strong Laz community in Istanbul. They bring with them their music, notably the Guda.

Istanbul: Few more statistics

• 1,000 per cent population increase since 1950, the highest of the OECD’s 78 metro-cities.
• 12.7 million people in the area governed by IMM (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality), over 15 million in the metropolitan region.
• Net migration rate has slowed from 10.76 per cent in 1990 to 0.2 per cent in 2008, compared to a 1.57 per cent projected growth rate between 2008 and 2023.
• Main internal immigration is from the Black Sea and the middle and south-eastern Anatolian regions.
• Istanbul has the highest residential density in Europe: 68,602 people/km² peak density; 20,116 people/km² central area density.
• The city is run by the IMM (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality), with a directly elected mayor.
• 27 per cent of national GDP, 38 per cent of national industrial output, more than 50 per cent of national service output and 40 per cent of national tax revenues come from the functional metropolitan region.
• 50 per cent higher productivity than the national average.
• 60 per cent of Turkey’s total trade goes through Istanbul.
• 11.2 per cent unemployment rate in 2008.
• 60 per cent of the population works in the service sector.
• 30 per cent of the population works informally.
• 37 per cent of the population works in manufacturing, producing 80 per cent of the city’s exports.
• 50 per cent of housing is or was informal.
• 99 per cent of the population has access to municipal services.
• 6.4 m² of green space per person in the province, compared to London’s 26.9 m², New York’s 29.1 m² and Stockholm’s 87.5 m² but only 1 m² of green space per person within the central built-up area.
• 2.72 tonnes of carbon emission and 383 kg of waste produced per person per year.
• 2,267 kWh of electricity and 56,575 litres of water consumed per person per year.
• 148.2 km of rail, with a further 160 km due in 2015, in the core of Istanbul province.
• 138.5 cars per 1,000 people in Istanbul, 45 per cent of the population walks; average commuting time of 48 minutes.
• 3 murders per 100,000 people but 44 per cent of the population is concerned about security and crime.

Source: Urban Age Research

Istanbul: Within International Trade Routes

Istanbul in numbers

Area (Total) 5 512 km2

Population: 12 573 836 (Male 6 291 000, Female 6 282 073)

Density: 2 400/ km2

Number of Residential Buildings: 2 291 228 ( 308 615 unoccupied)

Total Number of Mosques: 3 028

Total Number of Churches: 40

Total Number of Synagogue:16

Forested Land: [216 392 ha. East Side 100 398 (46 %), West side 115 994 ha. (54%)]

Total Number of Vehicles: 2 441 667 (2007)

Total Number of Primary and High Schools:2 707

Total Number of Students: 2 323 628 (Both Primary and High Schools)

Total Number of University: 29

Total Number of Hospitals: 200

Total Number of Pharmacies: 3 852

Total Number of Tourists: 6 453 582 (2007)

Total Number of Tourıst Accommodation Establishments: 341

Total Number of Entertainment Establishments: 405

Contribution to Capital Budget: 40%

Foreign Currency Inflow: 3 820 386 391 TL

Percentage in Gross National Product: 23%

Total Deposit in Turkish Banking System: 25%

(data from http://www.ibb.gov.tr/)