This case report explores what happened to a coastal Mediterranean city in Turkey that was transformed from a smuggling transit hub to Greece and the EU into a home for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees after the closing the Balkans Route in 2015. It shows how several of the city’s low- and middle-income neighborhoods, especially the neighborhood of Basmane, have undergone increased demand for affordable housing and a revival of Syrian-owned small businesses. However, the city’s already limited healthcare and education systems have been further stressed by the increase in population. The report is written by a Syrian refugee who attempted to travel to Greece, but whose boat sank, and she settled in Izmir becoming an aid volunteer.
Links
Resource collections
- Topics
- UN Habitat - Urban Response Collection
- Urban Response - Urban Crisis Preparedness and Risk Reduction
- Urban Response Collection - Community Engagement and Social Cohesion
- Urban Response Collection - Economic Recovery
- Urban Response Collection - Environment and Climate Change
- Urban Response Collection - Housing, Land and Property
- Urban Response Collection - Urban Crisis Response, Recovery and Reconstruction
- Urban Response Collection - Urban Resilience
