Urban Political Ecology Summer Course in Turkey

Throughout my years of study, the ones that have proved most influential were those where I was able to travel to another place, experience those places, live in those places and be able to see a different way to learn. Istanbul is a city worth seeing because it is unique in so many ways. It is considered a major hub and central city in todays world. As one of the largest urban fabrics in the world, it was and is still always facing many challenges which opens its doors up for discussion. The structure of the program I went to in my summer seminar allowed site seeing in many sides of the city that tourists never get to see, which is absolutely something to take advantage of. Discussions during, and after were sparked by what we learn, saw and experienced on the road, in class and on our own free time. It guided me towards a direction I was very interested in learning about as well as discussing with locals and professionals in the field on the topic of my choice. The cities built environment, non-sustainable environmental issues and social development are definitely worth seeing.

One of the best life-experiences and of my professional career indeed.

This program offers an unique experience in get in touch with the socio-ecological process, not only in Istanbul but also in contemporary Turkey through the powerful lenses that has urban political ecology. In this sense, the processes referred before, are very illustrative for the urban transformations that have been developing in other regions across the world particularly in Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Also the program was a perfect ocassion to get close with the diverse Turkish culture and share with people from differents backgrounds, interests and insights.