The "City and Civilization Congress", which was held by the Union of Municipal and Private Administration Employees (Bem-Bir-Sen) affiliated to "Memur-Sen" labour union and lasted for 2 days, started at the Memur-Sen Headquarters.
Along with the congress, new ideas about local governments were brought to the agenda.
Pointing out that academic studies are important as well as union gains, Memur-Sen Chairman Ali Yalçın underlined that speeches on the future of cities will be made with the congress held.
"I would like to thank our experts who will speak at this meeting where we will discuss both the future of our cities and the future of our cities. We had difficulties in the union movement. We have experienced periods when those who say the end of March is spring experienced the black winter, and those who say cure municipality practiced edict municipality. I would also like to thank the Chairman of Bem-Bir-Sen, who continues to struggle in this process," he said.
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FACED THE PROBLEMS FIRST
Pointing out that cities are the pioneers of civilization, Assoc. Dr. Musa Öztürk, the congress organizer and the Editor of the Journal of City and Civilization, stated that the population densities all over the world are in cities.
"City and civilization are phenomena that should be considered together. According to the data of the World Bank, 85% of the population in the world, 75% of the population in Europe and 76% in Turkey live in cities. Rapid population growth in cities in Turkey created problems such as squatting and impoverishment. Local governments were the first to encounter problems in this regard," he said.
WE MUST BUILD CITIES THAT ARE PRECIOUS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
Pointing out that the time of the congress is important, Bem-Bir-Sen Chairman Levent Uslu stated that some cities established in the past were exemplary cities for the whole world, and stated that the cities established in the future are also important.
"The congress held was supposed to follow the program of the second century. What kind of urbanism should we build, strong cities against disasters, comfortable cities, breathable cities, cities that will set a precedent for future generations? Until the 19th century, there was a saying, 'Travel and see the world, Isfahan' Where is Isfahan, the capital of the Seljuks? All of Europe took the capital of the Seljuk Empire as an example," Uslu said.