The Urbanization Journey

"The planning profession is an adventure, and I prefer to be involved in every stage of that adventure. There are fish in the river near the bank, and also in its wildest, most ferocious parts. While one could fish calmly by the bank, I always chose that wild place." These words probably best summarize him. Architect and planner Prof. Hüseyin Kaptan is an unforgettable name who left a mark on planning history with 60 years of professional experience, contemporary with Turkey's urbanism history. Throughout his life, with inexhaustible energy and excitement, Prof. Hüseyin Kaptan advocated that "people" are the most important element of planning in his work across almost every region of Anatolia and in Istanbul, becoming one of the pioneers of participatory planning studies. He built bridges between the academic community and politicians, civil society and administrators, local and universal, city and nature, and advocated for all the birds, trees, forests, and waters of all cities, in short, all ecological values.

He passed away due to a heart attack shortly after he started working on a book, saying, "So much experience, so much knowledge should not go to waste." The book was completed by compiling interviews conducted with him during this period, other previous interviews found in Prof. Hüseyin Kaptan's archive, articles he wrote, plan and project reports, and statements from documentaries and television programs. The book, entirely narrated by him, contains a history of planning and urbanism intertwined with Prof. Hüseyin Kaptan's professional experiences.

In Turkey, urban transformation projects, which have been increasing for the last ten years and directly affecting a large segment of society; social events that led to discussions on concepts of public/green areas and citizens' rights; and recent local elections that opened discussions on topics such as mega projects, earthquakes, floods, and the quality of settlements and living spaces, have increased public interest in the field of "urbanism." This book will be read with pleasure not only by architects and urban planners but also by non-professionals who wish to gain knowledge and insight into this field, as if reading a novel. This is because the book contains a "sincere and simple" language, derived from Prof. Hüseyin Kaptan's narration, and important information regarding the history of urbanism.

"I saw and experienced, starting from my Iğdır experience while working at İller Bankası in the 1960s, that there is a truth above all theories in planning processes, and this means reaching a consensus with the people living in the locality. I always felt that an intellectual imposition in the form of a top-down approach, saying 'This is the theoretical truth, it is very beneficial for your future and indispensable truths,' was very wrong. I benefited greatly from this awareness in my professional life. Although I suffered great defeats, all of them were honorable. I do not remember any dishonorable defeat in my professional life. I even enjoyed these defeats. I realized that I was doing something, that I was useful."
_Hüseyin Kaptan

Table of Contents;

• Introduction: Contemporary with Turkey's Urbanism History, On Sixty Years of Experience
• Black Sea: A Wild Geography
• Glimpses from Kaptan’s Life
• Planning Periods
• From Seminars and Workshops
• Kaptan’s Final Messages on Planning