Join us for our online event “CSU Green Cities: Izmir, Turkey: Productive Karsiyaka + Nature Based Urban Renewal” on Wednesday, August 27th from 12 -1p featuring guest speaker Hasibe Akin and moderated by CSU board member Chitra Mamidela.
Talk Abstract
Turkiye is confronting intensifying wildfires, drought, deforestation, and deepening social inequalities. As in many parts of the world, these layered crises are both consequences and catalysts of climate change. In such times, knowledge alone is not enough—we also need imagination, empathy, and civic participation. In this talk, architect and social entrepreneur Hasibe Akın explores how underutilized urban spaces can become ecological and social sites of renewal.
Through Çatı Çiftliği (“Rooftop Farm”), the social enterprise she founded, Akın integrates nature-based solutions—including rainwater harvesting, agroecological practices, permaculture, soil restoration, and community engagement—into dense, diverse, and fragile urban fabrics. Drawing from projects in Türkiye, a geography bridging Asia and Europe, she shares how she bridges academic research and field-based practice to cultivate place-based climate resilience.
The talk will focus on “Productive Karşıyaka,” a project developed for the Municipality of İzmir’s Karşıyaka district through a participatory process. This initiative demonstrates how municipalities, citizens, and designers can come together—guided by principles of care, reciprocity, and regeneration—to co-create climate-aligned urban futures.
You are invited to explore the transformative potential of overlooked urban spaces, and what becomes possible when knowledge and action grow together.
Speaker: Hasibe Akin, Fulbright Visiting Researcher at Harvard University, Architect, Social entrepreneur
Hasibe Akın is currently a Fulbright Visiting Researcher at Harvard University, recognized as Türkiye’s first “climate expert” by Fulbright. Akın holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and a Master’s in Architectural Design from Istanbul Technical University (ITU). Her PhD research in Landscape Architecture at ITU is hosted by Harvard GSD Landscape Architecture Assoc. Prof. Gareth Doherty. She was honored as a 2024 ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architecture) GameChanger and a WxLA Scholar supported by the Landscape Architecture Foundation and currently, as a 2025–2026 Fellow of the Harvard Mellon Urban Initiative.
She is the founder of Çatı Çiftliği, a social enterprise transforming underused urban spaces into regenerative ecosystems through nature-based solutions. She takes joy in bridging academic knowledge with field-based practice to create inclusive, climate-resilient urban futures.
Moderator/Host: Chitra Mamidela, CSU Board Member
Chitra Mamidela is a licensed architect and environmental designer based in New York City. She currently works at David Cunningham Architecture + Planning, where she leads projects at the intersection of sustainability, preservation, and Passive House design, with a focus on affordable housing and community resilience.
Previously, Chitra was an Environmental Designer at Atelier Ten, advancing decarbonization and performance strategies for complex projects. She has collaborated with UN-Habitat, the Building Energy Exchange (Be-Ex), and the Center for Active Design, and contributed to technical resources for the NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and AIA Brooklyn COTE.
Chitra holds a B.Arch and Master’s in Sustainability in the Urban Environment, and is a Certified Passive House Designer, LEED AP BD+C, and WELL AP. She teaches at CUNY City Tech and serves on the board of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization, where she curates the Green Cities series. Her work is rooted in the belief that architecture can be a catalyst for environmental integrity, social equity, and lasting beauty.
Learning Objectives:
1. From Municipal Brief to Planetary Need
How a local municipality’s request was reinterpreted through a broader ecological and social lens—turning a conventional design brief into a regenerative and climate-responsive urban mission.
2. Multi-Scalar Urban Implementation
How a citywide master plan was designed and implemented across urban, neighborhood, and street scales—translating systemic ideas into tangible, site-specific interventions.
3. Collaborative Infrastructure for Urban Transformation
What it takes to bring together interdisciplinary teams and bridge municipalities, civil society, and everyday citizens—opportunities, tensions, and unexpected alliances.
4. Designing and Grounding Nature-Based Solutions
How rainwater harvesting, soil restoration, permaculture, and community engagement were not only designed but also implemented in real-world conditions—supported by eco-awareness programs and hands-on public involvement.
Sponsor Organization for Green Cities:
Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (CSU), UN-Habitat, AIA New York, AIANY Planning & Design, the NGo Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, Habitat Professionals Forum for Sustainable Cities, Creative Exchange Lab (CEL), Global Urban Development (GUD), and the Columbia University Center for Buildings, Infrastructure and Public Space (CBIPS).