Meet the 3 newly designated Healthy Cities in Turkey

11 May 2022

3 new cities from Turkey have joined Phase VII, the current working phase of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network. Cities that are designated as Healthy Cities under Phase VII commit to fostering health and well-being through governance, empowerment and participation; creating urban places for equity and community prosperity; and investing in people for a peaceful planet. The topics the cities will be focusing on are:

  • investing in people living in cities;
  • designing urban places that improve health and well-being;
  • promoting greater participation and partnerships for health and well-being;
  • improving community prosperity and access to common goods and services;
  • promoting peace and security through inclusive societies; and
  • protecting the planet from degradation through, for example, sustainable consumption and production.

Phase VII, which began in 2019 and will continue until 2025, focuses on themes presented in the 2018 Copenhagen Consensus of Mayors, which is inspired by and aligned with Health 2020, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and WHO’s European Programme of Work (2020–2025).

Click through the photo story below to find out more about the Phase VII new members and their efforts to place health high on their social and political agendas.

Meet the 3 newly designated Healthy Cities in Turkey... 1

Balçova, next to the Aegean Sea, is one of the 11 districts of Izmir Province in Turkey. The city works with the Balçova Women’s Cooperative to encourage women to participate in all areas of urban life. 

Funded by the UN Population Fund, 8 new community centres now offer women a wide range of vocational training, including training in jewellery and soap making, painting, stitching and pottery.

Meet the 3 newly designated Healthy Cities in Turkey... 2

The Balçova sport centre was built under the slogan ‘free sports for everyone, for every age’. 6500 city residents of all ages exercise here. The city also organizes summer camps for children aged 8 to 13, with about 450 children participating yearly and enjoying sports for free. 

Away from the sea, residents are encouraged to make use of the Balçova forest with its 50 000 trees, walking paths, cycling routes and picnic areas, to improve their well-being.

Meet the 3 newly designated Healthy Cities in Turkey... 3

The Happy Mezitli Village in the city of Mezitli promotes health through teaching children and adolescents about society, citizenship and the importance of volunteering. 

The city, guided by the health development plan and WHO’s goal of achieving Health for All, is building bicycle networks, distributing bicycles to those who cannot afford them, and offering courses to help people learn to ride.

Meet the 3 newly designated Healthy Cities in Turkey... 4

The municipality of Mezitli runs 2 centres dedicated to active ageing, with activities geared towards adults and older people, including music classes, a choir, interactive games and handicraft classes. 

Other city-run activities take into consideration the environment and sustainability, such as the locally organized volunteer compost group, which sees dozens of volunteers contributing to recycling efforts.

Meet the 3 newly designated Healthy Cities in Turkey... 5

The city of Nilüfer has set up processes to ensure the participation of all its residents in the decisions that affect them and the places they live in. This is in line with the Healthy Cities Network guiding document – the Copenhagen Consensus of Mayors – which outlines a transformative approach for safe, inclusive, sustainable and resilient societies, including involving people through participatory governance mechanisms.

Meet the 3 newly designated Healthy Cities in Turkey... 6

An example of participatory governance is an initiative for people with disabilities, called Bizim Ev, which translates into Our Home, in the municipality of Nilüfer. The project encourages people with disabilities to take an active role in social activities and benefit equally from available services and workshops. 

In response to concerns expressed in these settings, the municipality decided to produce and distribute masks that allow people with hearing impairments to continue communicating via sign language and lip reading. 

The municipality also increased its distribution of books in braille and committed to running disability awareness activities throughout the year.

/