Batikent, Kent-Koop, Turkey

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The Batikent Project was launched in 1979 by Kent-Koop (Union of Batikent Housing Construction Cooperatives) formed by groups such as labor unions, and associations of tradespeople and artisans, under the leadership of the Metropolitan Municipality of Ankara.

Batikent was the first mass housing project to demonstrate the success of public and private partnerships in the housing field in Turkey. It was a pioneer in bringing low income people together in cooperatives, either by place of work or through the workers' unions, to decide for themselves about the type, size and number of units in their housing projects. Housing "by the people and for the people" has had an impact on the housing shortage in Turkey and has kept down the sale and rental prices in the Ankara housing market. Today, 190,000 persons live in 43,000 housing units at Batikent.

Through Batikent and other projects Kent-Koop has accomplished the following three basic objectives:

1. Organized the real sufferers of the housing problem to strengthen their influence on housing policies. 2. Regained, through the notion of professional cooperative management, the self- confide nce lost by the housing cooperatives due to earlier failures caused by amateur administration and management. 3. Created a quality urban sector through the democratic participation of the public and thus contributed to a healthy urbanization.

The main cooperation on the Batikent Project is between the Metropolitan Municipality of Ankara (a local administration) and Kent-Koop (a civil organization). The central administration and the private sector also occupy significant positions in the project. In this way, the Batikent Project has become a model in Turkey for bringing together a civil organization, local administration, and the central administration on a single project.

Having come together to acquire housing and forge a difficult partnership in Turkey, the Batikent people now meet their social and cultural needs directly through their own organizations. Today, the Batikent people enjoy cooperation and solidarity in social and cultural activities and in the procurement of certain consumer goods.

Thus, as a departure from the traditional housing cooperation movement, Kent-Koop has taken the lead in the development of projects to meet housing and non-housing requirements of our citizens.