CommonLab
Salacak Waterfront Park
Urban Design, Competition
Type: Urban Design / Status: Competition Entry / Client: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality / Location: Salacak, Istanbul / Year: 2020
Work in Collaboration / Team: Aslı Aydın, Dide Dinç Üstündağ, Göknur Gülcü, Emel Akdemir Mut
The Salacak waterfront competition is approached as an opportunity to reflect on the future of public space design in the city. With its view of the Historic Peninsula and the Maiden’s Tower, the Salacak shoreline is one of Istanbul’s primary locations for watching the sunset and is heavily used along its approximately 2.5 km coastline by residents of Salacak and Üsküdar, as well as pedestrians from surrounding neighbourhoods.
In its current condition, the Salacak waterfront includes a two-way vehicular road with two lanes, where one lane in each direction is used for on-street parking, narrowing the coastal edge. Especially on weekends, heavy pedestrian use causes the bicycle lane to be used by pedestrians, creating unsafe conditions. Connections between the upper-level urban fabric of Salacak and the shoreline are currently weak, and the existing stairs provide access to the waterfront only at secondary points. There is also no accessible route for elderly or disabled users to reach the shoreline.
The proposal re-evaluates the Salacak shoreline from a pedestrian-priority perspective and suggests closing it to motorized traffic. The areas gained through the removal of vehicular roads and parking are primarily reconfigured as a green coastal park. The existing green fabric, currently concentrated along the cliff zone, is extended and strengthened along the entire Salacak shoreline up to Üsküdar Square. The main theme of the proposal is the integrated design of the entire area between the lower shore (sea edge) and the upper shore (green band) as a continuous, densely planted park.
The shoreline is envisioned as a “slow street” prioritizing pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles. The hierarchy of public space use is organized as pedestrians, bicycles, and micro-mobility modes such as electric scooters, public transport, moving private vehicles, and finally, parked vehicles. An open parking area is proposed near Üsküdar Square, while a transfer hub in the Harem area, integrated with an underground parking facility with a capacity of 1,200 vehicles, supports this strategy. This arrangement allows the Salacak waterfront to be fully pedestrianized. Mobility within the proposed green coastal park is structured through bicycle routes, a tram line, pedestrian paths, and sea transport. In this phase, the line runs from Üsküdar Square to Harem Station. In the long term, it is extended to Kadıköy, establishing a continuous coastal connection along the Üsküdar-Kadıköy shoreline.
