Gebze Safe School Streets & Square Transformation Rehearsal

On October 31st, a square and school street in Gebze (Kocaeli, Turkiye) will host a colorful opening ceremony with the participation of children, their caregivers, and the city’s stakeholders. The ceremony will include games, concerts, and book-reading activities for children and will be a celebration for the neighborhood. Gebze Municipality received support from the “Street Transformation Rehearsal Program,” developed by Marmara Municipalities Union, Superpool, and Global Designing Cities Initiative to transform car-oriented streets into pedestrian and child-friendly public areas. Despite being surrounded by many schools and used extensively by the children, the project area had been used as a parking lot. After two months of data collection and design, using low-cost materials and tactical urbanism tools such as painting, planting, and furniture placement, the parking lot and the school street have turned into a safe public space. One of the aims of the opening ceremony is to ensure the transformation in the public sphere is turned into a positive experience for the neighborhood residents of all ages. Data collection and observations will continue for 3 to 6 months to monitor the alteration and turn the rehearsal project into a permanent one that allows safe walking and children to play.