Batuhan Akkaya

A sustainability-focused urbanist integrating climate and heritage conscious solutions into socio-spatial transitions, urban development, governance, and research.

Area

Urban and regional studies, Cultural heritage studies, Urban planning and design

Current Project(s)

CISCA, PED-ACT, POSEIDON

Languages

ENG, TR, GER (beginner)

Contact

[email protected]

More about Batuhan Akkaya

A sustainability-focused urbanist integrating climate and heritage conscious solutions into socio-spatial transitions, urban development, governance, and research. He holds a BA in Urban and Regional Planning, an MSc in Urban Design, and an MA in Cultural Heritage Studies. As a Fulbright scholar, he participated in the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies at MIT and The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. He is working as a project manager and researcher at Wonderland. He has worked across Europe, the USA, and Turkey on projects involving climate action, urban design guidelines, neighborhood regeneration, municipal infrastructure, heritage management, social impact assessment, spatial planning, street design, urban research, and the adaptive reuse of public buildings. He co-founded of Urban.koop, an Urban Studies Cooperative that supports fair urban transitions in Turkey.

Recent Publications

Critical Heritage Urbanism: Exploring Climate Change And Heritage Nexus In Izmir’s Waterbodies.

This research’s contribution is ‘critical heritage urbanism’ that connects urban and heritage phenomena in addressing emerging urban issues of the Anthropocene. The research reframed climate change as a cultural phenomenon and delved into the dynamics of water streams, wastewater flows, and treated water flows within the municipal climate heritage context in Izmir, while also exploring the path to establishing a climate heritage nexus on an international scale. By investigating these interactions at both local and global levels, the research had knowledge contribution to intricate complexities inherent climate change and urban cultural heritage nexus in Mediterranean context. Akkaya, Batuhan. Critical Heritage Urbanism: Exploring Climate Change And Heritage Nexus In Izmir’s Waterbodies. MA Thesis in Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management. Central European University, Vienna, May 2024

The PED Manifesto

The PED manifesto was born out of our experiences while creating positive energy districts for case studies in the DUT-funded PED-ACT project. Through the participation processes we were engaged in, we realized that a crucial part of establishing PEDs was to bring citizens and citizen groups together, to help them develop and initiate projects in their own way. We also realized society exists as part of structures that determine and allow space for courses of actions, so the energy transition requires much more than technical solutions. It requires a holistic approach.

IDEA: Public Co-working and Co-production Space Model

This publication introduces the İDEA model—a new approach to public space design that merges co-working, co-production, and civic engagement in urban settings. The İDEA model places the concept of co-production at its core and how municipalities can activate underused public spaces for collaboration, inclusivity, and local economy. Akkaya, Batuhan, and Egecan Erdoğan. IDEA: Public Co-working and Co-production Space Model. Istanbul: Kadıköy Municipality Cultural Publications, 2019.

Further Links

Urban.koop

Posts by Batuhan Akkaya

Space to Move!

June 12, 2025
3:46 pm

PED-EU-NET Final Conference

Wonderland at the PED-EU-NET Final Conference ‘Energising Neighbourhoods’ in Linz, 2-3 September 2024 Welcome to Linz, Austria, where the COST Action Positive Energy Districts European Network (PED-EU-NET) is hosting its

August 31, 2024
1:24 pm

Fanzineist Vienna: Circular Steps for Circular Culture

Wonderland recently participated in the Fanzineist Vienna Art Book & Zine Fair, presenting the YE-2C Project with the theme “Circular Steps for Circular Culture” In the Fanzineist Vienna we explored

May 31, 2024
4:26 pm

POSEIDON WeLabs: Call for Film Submissions

POSEIDON project has announced a new initiative aimed at promoting the creation of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) in the Mediterranean region. While the technical aspects of sustainable energy have been

May 31, 2024
3:04 pm

Symposium “More than a City” Explores Opportunities of the New European Bauhaus Movement

Linz, a city grappling with the daily challenges of urban development and climate change welcomed the Symposium “More than a City” on April 18, 2024. Organized by the City of

April 18, 2024
4:43 pm

Fourteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Are urban spaces becoming asocial forms? We’ve recently participated in the Fourteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment at the University of Vienna, organized by Common Ground Research Networks. This

April 8, 2024
1:14 pm

Participatory Workshop Izmir, Karşıyaka

April 5, 2024
9:13 am

Co-Learning the Fairer Pathways to PEDs with Schönbühel-Aggsbach Energy Community

Schönbühel-Aggsbach is inspiring not only for its amazing cultural landscape with castles on wine yards and beautiful forests but also for its dedicated community focused on clean energy transition. On

February 5, 2024
12:38 pm