Izmir Kordon & Tram Plans
Core idea
Tram and seafront public realm
Why it matters
Modal shift + waterfront activation
Description
From the 2010s, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality pursued linked investments in a modern tram network and the upgrading of the Kordon, the city's celebrated seafront promenade on the Gulf of Izmir. The programme combined new tram lines serving the central districts with pedestrian and cycling improvements along the waterfront, reallocating space from cars to public life. It forms part of a broader municipal strategy of modal shift and public realm renewal in Turkey's third-largest city.
Significance
The Izmir programme is significant as an example of a Turkish metropolitan municipality pursuing European-style transit and public space policies at a time when national urban policy favoured large road and construction projects. The Kordon itself has a longer history as a contested space, and its pedestrianisation is often discussed as a model of waterfront activation in the eastern Mediterranean. The case features in debates on municipal autonomy and progressive urbanism in Turkey.
What shaped it
- The street tram / streetcar (1832 horse / 1881 electric)
- Transit-oriented development (TOD) (1993)
- The pedestrian zone (1953)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram_%C4%B0zmir
- https://www.raillynews.com/2017/07/stages-of-the-main-tram-stop/