TOPUK Project

Maltepe, Istanbul

June – November 2022

This project is supported by Sustainable Urban Mobility Network of Turkey, KAVŞAK. “Woman Reaching Public Transport- TOPUK” has been developed in partnership with EKA Creative Studio, IMM Department of Transportation, ITU IstanbulON Urban Mobility Laboratory, Maltepe Municipality and Street is Ours Association. The “Woman Accessing Public Transport – TOPUK” project aimed to develop spatial interventions together with participatory methods to make women’s access to public transport safe, secure and comfortable.

In this context, in the Maltepe District as the pilot area, safety-enhancing design criteria have been determined to strengthen pedestrian access on the route from the vicinity of Prof. Dr. Türkan Saylan Cultural Center (TSKM); towards the entrance of Kadıköy-Kartal metro line Gülsuyu station, IETT stop and minibus waiting area. In the evaluations made by Maltepe Municipality, Nar Sokak, located to the west of TSKM, is used as a bus transit route, is considered unsafe by users due to its narrow sidewalk and alternatively, the pedestrian road inside TSKM is being used by the locals. These and similar problems reported by Prof. Dr. Türkan Saylan Cultural Center users contributed to focusing on the road on the south and the Nar Street on the west of the cultural centre within the scope of the project.

Project Content

TOPUK project has emerged in order to identify the problems faced by women on their way to and from public transportation routes together with them and to develop solutions together. The main goal of the project is to continue the urban intervention processes developed by public institutions with participatory methods and to ensure that the citizens are involved in the whole project process. In this sense, TOPUK project has been a project carried out with the participation of women who are in a disadvantaged position in transportation and developing solutions to their problems on a design scale. From the determination of the problems to the implementation of the application, all users, especially women, were involved in the process and guided the decisions. For this purpose, the project has been developed with methods that prioritize participation.

In the TOPUK project, a process-wide participation approach was taken as a basis, and space was provided for users to express their opinions at every stage of the project. While developing the project content, it was ensured that both expert opinions and users’ opinions were taken. In line with this approach, the project was designed and completed as 3 modules: analysis, design and implementation.

In the analysis section, which is the first module, a workshop was held to receive research and user opinions about the field. In the design part, which is the second module, it is aimed to make comprehensive design proposals for the project area determined by using the data obtained in the first module. In the implementation process, which is the third module, the participation of the living citizens who use the project area and its surroundings to the implementation process was considered. TOPUK project, which consists of three modules, aimed to integrate public participation in each module and thus to be an exemplary project.