Diyarbakır Is Growing. City Life Should Improve at the Same Pace

Someone returning to Diyarbakır after a few years immediately notices change. The city expands, new living areas emerge, commerce grows, housing moves beyond the center, and traffic increases. This is a regional hub of more than 1.8 million people, also attracting people from surrounding provinces for health, education, and trade.

This growth is encouraging. But it raises a question we need to ask more often: is residents’ everyday life becoming easier to the same degree? In urban planning, size and quality of life are different things.

How long does the morning commute take? Can a child walk safely to school? Can an older neighbor use the sidewalk comfortably? Can a disabled person move independently? Is there a nearby park or public place for a family on a summer evening? These may seem small questions, but our relationship with a city is made of precisely such moments.

New roads and housing are not enough

Beyond a certain point, building roads alone does not solve traffic; building housing alone does not create a city. A good city avoids making people’s lives unnecessarily difficult.

Consider Diyarbakır’s climate. On summer days above forty degrees Celsius, shade is a health issue rather than an aesthetic detail. Trees, shaded walking routes, drinking water, and cool public spaces are fundamental to quality of life here.

Consider children. If safe play areas are an afterthought when hundreds of apartments are built, something is missing in planning. Consider older people. High sidewalks, no benches, distant crossings, and difficult transport access mean a city designed only for young people with cars. To me, a good city is one an eight-year-old and an eighty-year-old can both use comfortably.

Cultural identity is one of Diyarbakır’s greatest assets. Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2015. These places are more than tourist photo opportunities; they also tell us how modern Diyarbakır should grow: without losing its memory. Identical new neighborhoods only enlarge a city. Squares, cultural centers, libraries, neighborhood parks, and pedestrian connections genuinely develop it.

Data and participation

Data is essential to planning. How long do people wait at each junction? Which neighborhoods lack green space? When is public transport inadequate? Are school routes safe? Managing a growing city requires measuring these things, beyond observation alone.

Public participation also matters. Asking neighborhood residents what kind of park they need before building it is the easiest way to prevent a poor investment. Central government investment, Dicle University’s urban research, architects’ and engineers’ associations, and private housing developers all form part of the picture alongside municipalities.

Projects that change lives need not be large. A well-placed crossing, an improved bus route, an accessible sidewalk, a safe school journey, a few hundred shade trees, a neighborhood library… Each can affect everyday life more than an imposing building.

Diyarbakır will continue growing. What matters is directing that growth well: considering transport alongside housing, environment alongside transport, historic fabric alongside tourism, and everyday peace alongside economic growth. I hope these questions will be openly discussed in the coming planning period.