Seda Kundak

Economic Vulnerability in Housing: Case Study: Istanbul Seda Kundak

In the history, Istanbul was called as ?city on the seven hills?. In the diaries written by travelers, Istanbul was described as one of the most beautiful cities of the world with its unique landscape due to Bosphorus extending between Asia and Europe. The lakes and the rivers among hills also enrich the spectacular view of the city. However, all these aesthetic values are the results of major geographic failure and fragile structure of the city. Before and during its past, Istanbul experienced several earthquakes which destroyed the city. The archeological remains are the main evidences that Istanbul collapsed several times and the subsequent city was built on the ruins of the former one. Now Istanbul is waiting for another devastating earthquake with its 13,5 million inhabitants. After the Kocaeli earthquake (1999), Turkish Compulsory Insurance Pool was founded in order to compensate the economic losses in properties caused by an earthquake. What are the probable losses? Is TCIP able to cover ?real losses?? What may happen in the real estate market? This book aims to provide a new perspective to evaluate probable financial losses in residential areas due to a major earthquake.