Our mission is to reduce disaster risk for the poor in Tomorrow’s Cities
Tomorrow’s Cities is the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Urban Disaster Risk Hub – a five-year global interdisciplinary research hub focusing on interdisciplinary research in the cities of Istanbul, Nepal, Quito and Nairobi.
Our aim is to provide research-based solutions to facilitate transition to risk informed management and decision making in focus cities where the low-income communities are faced with multi-hazard risks including earthquake, flood, landslide and volcanic eruption.
Who we are
We are one of 12 UKRI GCRF Hubs funded as part of the UK AID strategy, putting research at the heart of efforts by more than 200 researchers to deliver the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The project "Tomorrow's Istanbul" is led by the KOERI at Boğaziçi University whose official contributors are the Middle East Technical University, TED University and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in Turkey and University College London, University of Edinburgh, King’s College London, Leeds Beckett University in the UK. Our aim is to create a platform where governmental and nongovernmental organizations, chambers, institutions and communities can collaborate in multi-hazard risk concept of Istanbul.
Why İstanbul
The city is growing at a rate of 1.5% per year – both upwards and outwards. Since the 50s, the scale of urban areas in Istanbul has expanded up to 21 times and by 2021, it’s been estimated that the urban areas in Istanbul will have increased up to 60%.
The research is designed and led by interdisciplinary research team and local stakeholders in rapidly developing and multi-hazard exposed city of Istanbul, in collaboration with international experts to facilitate the transition from crisis response towards risk management by establishing research-based accumulation of knowledge and decision support mechanisms.