RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

          With regard to R&D activities carried out by the Administration (TOKİ), keeping development of the best possible housing at the forefront of its concerns, TOKİ arranged the First Housing Convention in April 2006 in Istanbul.
          Focusing on lower-income groups and urban transformation, the Convention was a chance for TOKİ to show the important work it has already done and an opportunity to further perfect the process of creating the least-expensive, highest-quality housing possible. Acting as an impetus for deeper investigation, the Convention spurred further research.
          Since March 2006, TOKİ has supported the publication of five research projects and associated reports along with publishing conference proceedings.
          Being aware that there is always room for improving the planning and implementation of its projects, TOKİ is planning to sponsor a Second Housing Convention in the near future to evaluate its efforts. Aside from the many presentations that have been planned, TOKİ is also sponsoring workshops to combine theoretical and the practical approaches to housing and urban development.
          Within the framework of the activities carried out as describing and promoting owning a house and TOKİ relation in our country, in May 2007, an art competition was organized by the Administartion around the theme of “My House, My City”.  In this contest, the creative art work on sheltering and housing concepts made by elementary school students throughout the country were supported by TOKİ and paintings by the students from 81 provinces were exhibited during the awards performed at the Administration.

The most recent R&D projects are as follows:

1-  Questionnaire on Events of Municipalities with which Cooperation is Made by the Housing Development Administration of Turkey 2005 - Database and Assessment, Veri Araştırma Danışmanlık Eğitim ve Yayıncılık Tic. A.Ş., March 2006.
2-  Housing Sector in Turkey and the Position of the Housing Development Administration of Turkey in Housing Construction - Yapı Endüstri Merkezi, April 2006.
3-  Housing Convention of the Housing Development Administration of Turkey, Istanbul 8 - 9th April 2006, Convention Book, April 2006.
4-  Study on Researching the Process of Consulting to the Client of the Housing Development Administration of Turkey, Analitik Araştırma Danışmanlık, September 2006.
5-  The “My House, My City” Elementary Schools Painting Contest of the Housing Development Administration of Turkey, Catalogue of Selected Works, May 2007.
6-  Awareness, Reliability and Trademark Image Study of the Housing Development Administration, Odak Araştırma ve Danışmanlık Ltd.Şti., January 2008.
7-  Research Study on Developing the Method of Compiling the Data on Human-Environment Relations Required to Constitute Urban Environmental Standards in Mass Housing Areas, METU (Middle East Technical University) Research and Implementation Center for Built Environment and Design (MATPUM), September 2008.

          Seeking to create better solutions, TOKİ finally has worked with MATPUM at Middle East Technical University (METU) to improve its effectiveness and efficiency. This project, which has not been published yet, has ;

• described the qualitative criteria that must be taken into account to create effective urban design scales for mass housing projects,
  
• documented exactly how these criteria are to be defined and
  
• established a precise, measurable standard for planning mass housing projects.

          As the economic effects of TOKİ’s projects are beginning to be felt, TOKİ recognizes that human-environmental interaction becomes particularly critical. Aiming to improve urban environmental standards and architectural design details it is using, TOKİ is creating yet another opportunity to develop the most deliberate, prudent and creative approaches possible.

          Separately, aiming to improve the architectural design details and urban design standards, within the framework of the R&D activities, TOKİ has organized an architectural design (intellectual design) competition in 2009, for Istanbul-Kayabaşı region. The Competition is planned to be finalized in May 2009.

          After the organization of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (HABITAT II) in Istanbul in June 1996, TOKİ is the contact administration for the follow-up activities of Habitat Agenda and the United Nations’ agenda of dealing with shelter, human settlement and environment issues including the latest research and strategies for providing the world with shelter, infrastructure and social facilities. TOKİ hosted international activities after HABITAT II to further clarify the questions it raised and to provide possible answers to the momentous issues at hand.