Istanbul - The Life-Sized City - S04E04 Full Episode

The Life-Sized City: Istanbul – Urbanism at the Crossroads of Europe and Asia What does a city of 15 million look like when it’s split between two continents and 2,500 years of history? This Season 4 episode of The Life-Sized City dives deep into this epic #city. Istanbul is one of the world’s most extraordinary cities — ancient yet fast-changing, chaotic yet resilient, bridging Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. In this episode of The Life-Sized City, Mikael Colville-Andersen navigates Istanbul’s urban complexity, from the Beyoğlu District’s historic streets to grassroots community gardens in Roma Bostanı. We explore the forces shaping this metropolis: relentless traffic, housing pressures, disappearing green space, and a turbulent political climate. Along the way, we meet urban thinkers and doers like filmmaker Imre Azem, community garden leader Sevil Bastürk, photographer Murat German, and architect Sinem Serap Duran — each offering insights into the city’s struggles and hopes. From the contested public space of Gezi Park to the art-filled Sanatçılar Park, and from the Sustainable Mobility Master Plan to local activism on the Marmara and Black Sea shores, this episode uncovers how Istanbul’s residents are reimagining life at street level. Whether confronting the legacy of the Byzantine Empire, a dangerous autocracy, adapting to a megacity’s rapid growth, or finding joy in neighbourhood resilience, Istanbul offers vital lessons for cities worldwide. 0:00 Intro 3:00 Ali Vatansever - filmmaker, Cities for All 8:40 Community Garden 15:29 Informal Market Architecture 22:24 Traffic Chaos 23:45 Murat German - Photographer 30:30 Razing homes and evicting citizens 37:17 Homelessness 40:53 YOLO Syrian Art Center 48:38 Tattoo! 49:43 Outro \#Urbanism #CityPlanning #UrbanDesign #PublicSpace #SustainableCities #Megacities #CityLife #UrbanFuture #ActiveTransport #HumanScaleCities #TacticalUrbanism #Placemaking #CompleteStreets #CarFreeCities #WalkableCities #CyclingCities #StreetLife #PublicRealm #TransitOrientedDevelopment #LiveableCities \#Istanbul #IstanbulDocumentary \#TheLifeSizedCity \#Urbanism \#CityPlanning \#UrbanDesign \#PublicSpace \#SustainableCities \#Beyoğlu \#Bosphorus \#GeziPark \#RomaBostanı \#SanatçılarPark \#IstanbulHistory \#IstanbulCulture \#Megacities \#CityLife \#UrbanFuture #MikaelColvilleAndersen #TravelDocumentary