Zeytinburnu

From Freepedia

Zeytinburnu is a working class suburb of Istanbul, Turkey on its European side. In the past it had a reputation for being a 'rough area' but in recent years better housing and transport have improved the area considerably, making it a popular area for Istanbul people to buy housing, especially for the first-time buyers.

Located just outside the walls of the ancient city, Zeytinburnu was an industrial village until a large wave of immigrants from Anatolia came and settled there from 1950 on. Zeytinburnu is an important lesson for city planing in Turkey, because most of the buildings in that district were built illegally, without infrastructure, and without any aesthetical concerns. These buildings were called Gecekondu's, meaning "landed at night" in Turkish, because these single storey, simple looking buildings were built in just one night to avoid legal problems. In the later years, such buildings invaded most of Istanbul's outskirts, and later they were replaced by concrete, still illegal and unplanned multi storey apartments which still lacked the infrastructure and the aesthetics. To earn this district back to Istanbul, the Municipality has improved the transportation by extending the modern tram line to Zeytinburnu, and has made several important projects to improve the transportation, living quality and the economics of the district. The newly opened Olivium Shopping Center is an example for a realised project.