Protests at plans to redevelop an old airport in western Turkey have gained greater weight after this summer’s forest fires.
Home to Turkey’s first ever landing strip, Yunuseli airport in the city of Bursa has been abandoned and inactive since 2017. Recently, the local municipality – run by the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) – announced plans to turn the site over to the ministry of environment and urbanisation, prompting speculation that the site will be used for construction.
Yunuseli, run by the Turkish Air Force between 2001 and 2017, is one of 40 inactive airports in Turkey. On February 3, representatives of political factions including the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) staged a protest at the site after some 750,000 square metres of the 1.4 million-square metre former airport were marked out for “urban transformation”. Joined by academics and members of NGOs, the protesters called for the site to be turned into a public park instead.
Following the protests, leading local AKP officials including Bursa’s mayor appeared to backtrack on the transfer, saying that no official decision had yet been taken. However, opponents of the project believe that officials are waiting for attention to die down before they proceed.
The spate of forest fires that hit Turkey this summer also raised public awareness of the important of air power in putting out large blazes.
“Once dubbed a ‘green city,’ our beautiful town of Bursa is home to large wooded areas despite profit-driven urban policies that have been in effect in the recent past,” Gürkan Altun, chair of the Bursa Bar Association, told reporters at an August event. “We’ve all witnessed forest fires in Bursa threaten not just the trees and the ecosystem, but also residential areas over the past few years. We want to avoid such risks.”
Bursa province currently only has a single firefighting helicopter, leased for three months.
“Air power should be created swiftly that could fight fires in Bursa to avoid the desperation that emerged in the fires in Manavgat, Bodrum and Marmaris,” Altun continued. “One of the first steps to this end would be an expansion of the fire fleet and the transformation of Yunuseli Airport into a fire base instead of opening it up for construction.”
Efsun Dindar, former chair of the Environmental Engineers Chamber, added, “I believe that this location should remain a green space. There shouldn’t be any construction work done on it, because unfortunately rezoning paves the way for construction even if it’s supposedly for public benefit. The use of this area as a fire extinguishing station should be carefully evaluated. It could be put to use if it’s just for fire planes.”
Dindar stressed that all construction projects have an impact on the environment, so should be planned carefully.
“Cities have to grow and develop, so it’s normal to expand urbanisation, but concrete slows down cooling in cities and closes off airways. We see this clearly when it rains: water starts to flow on the surface of the ground when there isn’t enough green space to absorb it. The earth can’t take in the water, so we observe flooding in the streets. There’s increased pressure on the sewage system and drains are clogged. There’s also a decrease in the input of underground waters. Each new construction alters the natural balance of the environment,” he concluded.
While empty, Yunuseli airport has been put to alternative uses: recently, it hosted both a kite festival and a car racing event. The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) has also announced a project to revive the site, holding the second round of the First Free Challenge Drone Competition at the location between September 13 and 18.
Some residents are concerned about increasing urbanisation in the once “green” city.
“Yunuseli has been stable for a while now without receiving any significant migration. If they build homes north of Yunuseli Airport, that’s going to bring a whole other crowd in,” said Ufuk Yüksel, a 35 year-old Bursa resident. “We’re going to have infrastructure issues. We have significant concerns about whether the water and sewage systems could carry the load. They call houses erected on empty lots ‘urban transformation’, but both the local and metropolitan municipalities struggle with offering services because of a lack of infrastructure.”
Yüksel described the project as “almost sabotaging the area”.
Engin Akdemir, a journalist who has lived in Bursa for 30 years, told Inside Turkey that construction had already increased in the city He believes green space has diminished and air quality has suffered as a result, suggesting that London’s Hyde Park could be a model for the former airport site.
Other residents told Inside Turkey they were concerned about the lack of gathering points for people fleeing natural disasters, and that the former airport could be used for this purpose. Bursa is located in the Marmara region’s earthquake belt, a part of the country susceptible to serious quakes.
Others stress the need for new homes. Mustafa Andıç, chair of the Contractors and Industry Professionals Association (IMSIAD) told Inside Turkey that Bursa suffered from a serious housing shortage. For Mehmet Albayrak, local chair of the Construction Engineers Chamber (IMO), the challenge is building homes that can withstand earthquakes.
“We support regulated operations in a city where illegal construction is at its peak. New construction zones should be planned based on expert opinion, including Yunsuseli Airport. I believe that urban transformation should be prioritized over new construction, otherwise we may face grave consequences,” Albayrak said.
Davut Gürkan, chair of the Bursa AKP branch, told Inside Turkey that no concrete steps have yet been taken in the airport’s redevelopment. The authorities, he added, “understand residents’ concerns, and the ruling party will carry out the most suitable project”. Gürkan also said that many local objections were unfounded and premature.
“Yunuseli Airport is valuable property to us,” he continued. “It’s inconceivable that we would sign up for a project without public benefit for our locals. We will do what’s best for our community with a decision taken together.”