In cities where public spaces are brought back to life, transformation stories like Müze Gazhane revitalize not only our spirits but also the local economy over a weekend. The invisible prosperity of free events reveals the true value of investments that touch urban life.
Prepared by: Duygu SANCAR CİVELEK
In recent years, the social impact of municipalities, especially in large cities, has increased significantly. They go beyond basic services such as roads, water, and electricity, and act almost at the higher levels of Maslow's hierarchy. A derelict ferry terminal turns into a library, a dilapidated structure that has lost its function becomes an exhibition space, and an ordinary park transforms into a festival area. And yes, they are doing this quite well. This article is also a bit about how the multiplier effect in the local economy becomes visible on an ordinary weekend spent in the city…
Leaving home, mingling with the city
The weather is freezing. I don't really feel like going out. I have unopened boxes at home. Moving is a phenomenon for me where being 100% settled is never achieved. Then I remember that saying: “A clean house is a sign of a wasted life.” I dress in layers and throw myself out. I only have two hours left until Müze Gazhane closes. Fortunately, Istanbul traffic brings a smile to my face, at least in cold weather. The streets are as empty as a long public holiday in Istanbul. I tell myself, I'm glad I came out.
First, I walk around a bit. I learn the story of what was originally called the Hasanpaşa Gasworks. It was established in 1892 for the gas needs of the Anatolian Side and remained idle after serving for nearly a century. After a long struggle, it was refunctioned while preserving its industrial heritage and lives on today as Müze Gazhane. Climate Museum, Children's Science Center, library, stages… An area where public life is intertwined.
Probably due to the student dormitories around it, the number of young visitors is high. In the evening, it resembles a university campus; calm but productive.
New people of the new city
My first stop is the Building a City: Ankara 1923–1933 exhibition. The housing and public buildings of Yenişehir in 1933 have been reconstructed with models. Although the visual material is limited, the power of artificial intelligence to concretize abstract information is admirable.
With the declaration of Ankara as the capital of the Republic, the need for housing for the staff who would sustain the government center arose. The plans are the product of this need. Despite limited resources, I encounter the names that made Ankara what it is.
Carl Christoph Lörcher leads the way. He made two plans for Ankara's modern period, but they were not implemented. He also has traces in Istanbul and Bursa. It surprises me quite a bit that someone so focused on people and nature was a Nazi sympathizer with ties to the German Socialist Party.
Then comes Nevzat Tandoğan. I read the biography of this mayor, who took office at 36 and produced projects rapidly for 17 years, and who won the appreciation of Atatürk, line by line. Perhaps I want to reminisce about the days I stayed in the hotel overlooking Tandoğan Square when I went there for my book signing; I don't know.
A city is undoubtedly not just about buildings. It is its inhabitants who make it valuable. The people of the new Ankara are cosmopolitan; bureaucrats, doctors, civil servants… At the same time, the invisible laborers of modern society; drivers, postmen, nannies, firefighters, war deserters, sex workers.
Unlike the multi-story apartment blocks in today's urban transformation frenzy, of the 320 houses in Yenişehir, which were built as single-story, level-access buildings, only 10 are standing today. The first Ankara, which was realized just before the modern era as the curators put it, and the experience it offers have remained on the dusty pages of history and destruction.
From nostalgia to red alert
The tone changes suddenly at the Climate Museum. The sepia calmness gives way to red alerts. I hear that melody that gives the feeling we are familiar with from Netflix documentaries: “time is running out, we must do something.” The truths that I know but do not want to face hit me in the face; melting glaciers, rising seas, disappearing corals… And one more piece of information I learned there that particularly shook me: the prediction that touristic attraction in Turkey could shift from the southern coasts to the northern coasts within a few years. My activist side is stirring, but I also know that this is an issue too big to be solved by individual efforts. Shortening the shower time really is a drop in the ocean when you consider what G20 governments could do. There might be those who give the starfish story as an example; but I cannot approach this issue that romantically.
Science Center: What I thought I knew
I check my watch, 17.25. I dedicate my last 35 minutes to the Children's Science Center. As with many events about science, the exhibition area is set up in a dark, sunless environment. Because of the children's theme, everything is colorful; there is an interactive arrangement. Levers, pulleys, kinetic energy simulations, and I remember my high school physics knowledge. My two-year-old daughter is more interested in the energy simulation, which draws attention with its lights and sounds, than these. She tries it again and again, she is quite happy. And so am I.
When my watch shows 17.55, I head towards the gate. Passing in front of the Istanbul Bookstore, I read its slogan with a smile: “It has the world inside…”
I get hungry; instead of the Gazhane cafe, we prefer to continue towards the coast. Sea air is always good. The lights of Kalamış Atatürk Park show that it will be our stop before returning home.
I have a short conscience check with the thought of returning home on time and preparing for the new week, but the energy of the crowd erases all question marks. Food stands rush to my aid. I follow the music coming from the ice rink. I remember the ice rink established in Galleria in the 90s. How much childhood memory stores… As I watch the mini shows of professional skaters, my eyes catch my daughter's curious gaze. She wants to get on the rink; while I try to explain that her age is not suitable, one of the young attendants offers to take her in his arms and take a short tour of the rink. Of course, my daughter is over the moon.
I'm ready to go home now, even the thought of opening the computer doesn't bother me. Despite the southwest wind, my headache is gone. I can't help but wonder how much of the pains and aches are psychological.
Invisible prosperity: The economy of free events
Some see these free events/venues under the heading of culture, art, and entertainment as an expense for municipalities, but in fact, the multiplier effect in the economy comes into play exactly here. The citizen who wants to reach the festival area spends money on transportation, gets hungry there, and eats from tradesmen/street vendors; the increase in the turnover of small tradesmen has a positive impact on direct tax and employment items.
On the other hand, bringing an idle public space into the economy removes maintenance costs as a burden, provides a positive increase in value to its surroundings, and the region in demand makes it attractive for the private sector to invest there. It makes significant contributions to the development of the city brand and the tourism economy.
These free festivals provide a hidden increase in prosperity, especially for families with children. The money not spent here shifts to other areas such as food, education, and savings. In other words, because the citizen feeds their soul relatively for free or at a low cost, they use their remaining capital in another area. I understand that sometimes a city's economy grows with a weekend plan; and its prosperity grows with well-thought-out public spaces. As the city is good for us, we take more ownership of the city. Because the best investments are those that touch people.
“One day is not enough for women”
Municipalities are on the field with various studies on March 8th International Women's Day. Here, I do not mean superficial approaches that are limited to distributing carnations in squares. Programs aimed at women who contribute to production and the local economy with their manual labor (such as technology literacy for entrepreneurial women, mobile photography workshops, design-oriented thinking training) are extremely valuable.
However, this visibility, which is squeezed into only one day of the year, sometimes leads to March 8th being presented to women almost as a “day off.” Yet, although free events, theaters, and meetings are positive, they are not enough to create a radical transformation in the social order. The studies of the late Şemsa Özar from Boğaziçi University on widows and divorced women strikingly reveal how widespread economic dependence is. Municipalities can make a real difference when they develop strong and sustainable policies in this area; most of what is done today still only touches the tip of the iceberg.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.