Students at İzmir Camp Map Urban Challenges

This initiative, closely tied to the Re-Value waterfront pilot project and undertaken by the Turkish chapter of JA Europe, aimed to address climate neutrality, inclusive design, and city aesthetics. The area today is widely recognized as a public space for national festivities and is equipped for outdoor recreational activities, making it heavily utilised in everyday life. It is conveniently located near various modes of transportation and serves as a gateway to İzmir for visitors through its northern cruise port.

The practical efforts involved utilising open-source tools like Kobo Tool Box (a suite of data collection tools) and Wikiloc (a mapping software). Moving into the real world, the students gathering in groups and began a detailed survey of the Alsancak area by collecting and geotagging specific issues they identified, enriching the project's data layer. Geotagged photographs of problematic areas were incorporated into a dataset pinpointing issues based on their locations, for future action.

Going forward, the work undertaken on this first Innovation Camp will be a key element for the 2nd Innovation Camp happening next year, which focuses on taking the next step in "re-valuing". Here, the students' findings will be integrated into the "Digital Twin" model of the area, using GIS technologies. Overall, the students contribute to the broader Re-Value ambition of reimagining urban spaces in a more sustainable and inclusive way.