Urban 95: A Data-Driven Policy Tool
Our partners in this project
2016 - 2020
With the support of Bernard van Leer Foundation, and the Kadir Has University Istanbul Studies Center’s cooperation, “Urban95: A Data-Driven Policy Tool” project offers a platform which is designed to facilitate the spatial monitoring of education and health services for children and families. The project is currently being implemented in three participating provinces –Istanbul, İzmir, and Gaziantep.
In the first stage of the project, metropolitan provinces and their districts were mapped according to the categories obtained by analyzing the variables of age and market value, using the neighborhood underlays valid in the geographical information system (GIS) environment. The maps that show the neighborhood categories obtained in this way clearly display the distribution of the child population among the districts, along with the income differentiation between districts and neighborhoods. In addition to the maps that synthesize market value and age groups, in order to show the child population rate in a simpler form, maps showing the ratio of the 0-4 aged child population in the neighborhood to the 0-4 aged child population in the entire district have also been presented in the interactive platform as an underlay map alternative at the neighborhood level. In 2020, education maps were added to the underlay maps.
In the second stage, an inventory of services and assistances oriented toward children and parents was prepared. In addition to the information gathered from all of Istanbul’s district municipalities in 2017, data about the services of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, about public and private preschool education, and about health institutions were gathered through certain variables. Service and assistance data provided by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Izmir central district municipalities were also included in the database. It was possible to constitute a detailed database since the municipal service and assistance data was gathered by means of a very comprehensive survey. However, the data about the public and private educational and health services is not equally detailed.
Finally, the prepared inventory of services and assistance was placed on the underlay maps in a way in which they can provide information on the regions where the need for such services and assistance is relatively high. “http://map.kent95.org/” website is genuinely able to present complex databases in a legible form to decision-makers
The interactive platform is a tool that enables decision-makers to follow the municipality services and other public and private services currently being provided in the provinces and districts, and to develop strategies for the services they aim to offer in the future. Considered from the city residents’ perspective, it should be emphasized that the website will enable access to detailed information about services and assistances being offered by various institutions, primarily the municipalities.
This year, a user-friendly admin panel was designed for local governments to be able to instantly and easily update their service and social assistance data. The aim for the Urban95 interactive platform, which has been developed through an effort of multiple partners, is that it will be kept up-to-date by means of the admin panel with the support and the will of stakeholders and local administrations who are the main beneficiaries of the project. TESEV will be holding workshops with Istanbul and İzmir metropolitan and district municipal staff on the Urban95’s data-driven policy tool of “http://map.kent95.org/” and the admin panel.