 | Second Istanbul to minimise earthquake damage? 06-03-2008 Istanbul is a city which faces a high earthquake risk. Because of its
location near the North Anatolian fault line, several earthquakes have hit the
city over the centuries, and another major one is expected to strike the city
region by 2025. Making the city's buildings - many antiquated or cheaply
constructed - earthquake proof would cost around 50 billion dollars. At this
price, Mete Sozen, professor of civil engineering at Purdue University, proposes
that building a second new Istanbul might be a better option.
Professor Sozen and his team created an animation of the new city. This
second Istanbul would be located about thirty minutes away from the current city
and able to house four million residents as well as Istanbul's corporations,
hospitals and major economic and government institutions. The buildings of the
new city would be built with quake-resistant technologies so that the buildings
could serve as homes, businesses and places of refuge. Even though official
government support for this plan has not been gained yet, a major construction
bank in Turkey is planning to collaborate with other businessmen and present the
'Satellite City' proposal for Istanbul to the World Bank.
Source:
Discovery
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