Transformation projects must be planned in a way that economically poor people can be employed

SAMPAŞ, which is forming a strong bridge between citizen and local government by applying Smart City solutions at 500 municipalities, presented cities’ brand value and the applications that increase city residents’ life quality and CeBIT 2014.
As the first implementer of “Smart City” concept in Turkey, SAMPAŞ established 6 stations on a large 500 square meter area and bring Smart City and Urban Transformation projects together with corporate visitors.

SAMPAŞ, offering high added value services to local governments with 33 years experience like software design and installation, education, management, maintenance, support services and consultations and carried out Smart City applications at over 500 municipalities, became the limelight of CeBIT.

At the expo, SAMPAŞ presented Web Based Management Information System (WebMIS), Smart Municipalism (MIB), AKOS – Urban Project Solution and Services, Smart Water Management, Urban Transformation and Transformation Road Map at Municipalities and informed its visitors about “Smart, Aesthetic, Ecological and Sustainable Cities.”

Karakaya: The number of our smart cities will increase quickly in the near future

THE CEO of SAMPAŞ Şekip Karakaya, indicated that they had an efficient expo term during CeBIT 2014 and stated that: “Nowadays cities are getting more crowded, service network of municipalities and local governments is getting bigger. In this enlarging network, it is getting harder to serve every citizen at same quality. We, as the “city engineer” step in at this phase. While doing this engineering, we prioritize citizen. We establish relationships between citizen and local governments and local governments and central governments.

With our Smart city solutions, we offer applications that increase the brand value and the life quality of resident, spreading human oriented management approach. At this expo, we shared our local success stories that won international awards to our corporate visitors. We presented the point we are at urban transformation works with practical solution examples to community. We shared our modernization projects for cities that came to a level in Turkey to get a competitive structure and gain important success. We hope that in near future the number of smart cities are going to increase a lot.”

The applications that were presented at SAMPAŞ’s 6 station at CeBIT

1.Web Based Management Information System (WEBMIS): While it ensures real time efficient management with new age web technology, it enables municipalities to prepare their own repots with new reporting structure.

2.Smart Municipalism (MIB): Thanks to its manageable, measureable and sustainable structure, it decreases the expenses of information technologies and increases municipalities’ corporate application and work process performance. It enables citizens to contact municipalities from different channels and the ability to make efficient decisions. Also, with mobile municipalism, it starts onsite service era. It enables corporate integration via e-government and private sector via service oriented architecture.

With WIB concept; Services like Mobile Mayor, Mobile Citizen, Mobile Numbering, Mobile Business Operating License, Mobile Misdemeanor, Mobile Revenues, Mobile Request Complaint, Mobile Crew Management, Mobile Zoning Information applications are also presented.

3.AKOS – Urban Project Management: By gathering municipalities’ all city information city needs under a single roof, increases citizens’ life quality and creates satisfaction. Enables resource saving by enabling logical decision making and forms City’s information system structure.

4.Smart Water Management: By realizing efficient and prolific water management, it minimizes water loss, offers environmentally friendly and ecological water solutions.

5.Urban Transformation Road Map:SAMPAŞ, sharing its experience and projects in the field of urban transformation with municipalities, draws a road map to municipalities to add value to their urban transformation projects. Presents technological solution prepared for Smart City Transformation.

6.Transformation Road Map at Metropolitans: With the smart, aesthetic and sustainable solutions it offers, SAMPAŞ argues that transformation is a must for a sustainable city. Smart city with technological transformation, Aesthetic city with urban transformation and Sustainable, Habitable and Ecological Cities with sustainable city transformation are formed.

Urban Transformation to reach 600 Billion Dollars

SAMPAŞ, which implemented “smart city” concept for the first time in Turkey, is involved in from software development to implementation for local governments to create modern cities.

SAMPAŞ’s, which serves “smart city” service to 500 municipalities in Turkey, President Şekip Karakaya, gave interesting figures about urban transformation studies and made some suggestions. As the first company to implement “Smart City” concept in Turkey, giving local governments services from software design to implementation, education to management, maintenance and support services to consultation. SAMPAŞ is a company that has a say in urbanization works in Turkey.

SAMPAŞ CEO Şekip Karakaya tells that they serve over 500 municipalities in Turkey for “smart city” applications. Şekip Karakaya, with whom we talked about urban transformation and their work at that field, gave those answers to our questions:

– What are you doing as SAMPAŞ?

* We carry out applications that enrich brand value of the cities and the life quality of the citizens, extending human oriented administration approach. We gave “smart city” application consultations to over 500 municipalities in Turkey. We study demographic structure of both cities and districts. We perform the planning by taking everything from the studied district into consideration like from economic structure to their day-today lives. To sum up, we make strategic urban transformation master plans.

– What is going to be the financial amount of urban transformation in Turkey?

* Urban transformation in Turkey is going to reach 80% of GNP, so around 600 billion dollars.

– What should come forefront during urban transformation?

* It should be put forth clearly that what kind of an attitude beneficiaries should show at urban transformation. Everybody should know their right and what should they demand. There are criticisms like “Environment and Urban Planning Ministry is raising coefficients.” However it is not being raised, it is being lowered.

– So, who should be doing the transformation?

* Urban transformation in Turkey should be carried out by private industry, government should just inspect. Foreign funds should be brought for transformation and transformation should be encouraged. Anatolian cities besides Istanbul and Ankara, where investors do not want to go, transformation should be carried out with HDA.

– At what point you step in at urban transformation?

* Besides doing all inspections, research about one zone’s transformation, we prepare master plans. From feasibility to destruction phase, coming to a consensus with people at transformation zones to valuation, new planning, we are at all phases. We started doing this 12 years before Urban Transformation Law came into effect. We have ongoing work at many parts of Turkey.

– How much of an area you inspected in Turkey, where did you carry out transformation work?

* Until today, we carried out inspection at 110 settlements in Turkey. We have over 30 million people’s data in our database, from their zone that they are living to their lifestyles. We are doing urban transformation work at places like İstanbul, Aydın, Antakya and İskenderun and we create urban transformation master plans for transformation projects there.

– What are your projects that shine out?

* We are carrying out a big Urban Transformation project at Okmeydanı in Istanbul with Beyoğlu Municipality. The launch of this project was done in these past months. Okmeydanı Project is going to be an groundbreaking project in Turkey and in the world. We are going to make an important transformation in 150 thousand square meter area, all of Zincirlikuyu Kore Şehitleri Avenue. The project managed by one of the biggest holdings of Turkey, is going to be a worldwide project. Also, we are managing a 400 decare project at Vatan Neighborhood, Bayrampaşa. We have many projects like that.

– Do you have projects outside Istanbul?

* We are interested in all parts of Turkey. Besides Istanbul, we have urban transformation projects in Aydın, Antakya and Iskenderun. Any place that awaits urban transformation is under our scope. For example, we are carrying out a transformation on 107 thousand square meter area where 70 thousand people are going to live in Belediye Evleri Neighborhood, Çukurova. We are going to carry out onsite transformation, without keeping people away from where they live.

– Are you just working on transformation?

* We adapted our 33 years of experience in software industry to urbanization studies. As SAMPAŞ, we serve at a wide range, like Web Based Management Information System (WebMIS), Smart Municipalism (MIB), AKOS – Urban Project Solution and Services, Smart Water Management, Urban Transformation and Transformation Road Building at Metropolitans.

10 SUGGESTIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATION

Şekip Karakaya sumps up what should be done for success at urban transformation:

• Special valuation for beneficiaries.

• No application such as sending people to some other place than the place they live.

• No difference between what is given to beneficiaries and what are up for sale.

• Creating mutual income bringing zones for beneficiaries at newly built buildings.

• Beneficiaries shouldn’t be in pursuit of density to get more rights.

• Beneficiaries should inspect the new project in three dimension models and see where they are going to live there.

• Transformation should be carried out without paying any price to transformation brokers.

• Having all kinds of facilities so that people from all ages can use at facility areas should be in as public opinion.

• Zones such as elder censored houses should be added to newly developing transformation areas.

• Transformation projects must be planned in a way that economically poor people can be employed.