Ender Peker is an urbanist specializing in climate responsive urban design, in particular the ways in which the built environment is co-designed by technical rules, regulations, and codes that seek to order urban life in deference to inhabitants’ socio-ecologic values. Peker holds a PhD in Real Estate and Planning from the University of Reading, UK, and a MSc degree in Urban Design from Middle East Technical University (METU). He completed undergraduate courses in city and regional planning at METU and economics at Anadolu University, Turkey. He has been a visiting scholar at the Joint Centre for Urban Design at Oxford Brookes University and the Department of Planning and Landscape at the University of Manchester.
Before his fellowship, Peker worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the British Institute at Ankara (BIAA) and Middle East Technical University. His research interests cut across the following themes: (i) urban design and the built environment, (ii) climate responsive design and architecture, and (iii) governance of sustainable urban development. He has lectured in various courses including “basic design principles,” “urban planning studio,” “research methods and techniques,” and “participatory planning and design” in different departments of Middle East Technical University, Gazi University, and University of Reading.
Project: “Producing Actionable Knowledge to Achieve Climate Responsive Urban Development in Turkey”
Although decision-makers involved in urban development have started to recognize the severity of the impact of urban built environment on climate, a sufficient level of action has yet to be achieved particularly at the local level. The failure to act is due to the lack of (1) appropriate approach, mechanisms, and methods for climate responsive urban space production and (2) the willingness of urban decisions-makers to initiate a change in the current urban development system. Within this context, publication of the Turkish National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) introducing a set of strategies for future urban development, stands as a promising initiation. However, previous research reveals that the NCCAP falls in short in terms of guiding the possible way(s) that can be implemented within the existing urban development system in Turkey, where the municipal authorities are the key actors in the production of urban space with their power to coordinate actions among different stakeholders and enable (or disable) community involvement with policy programs.
This research aims to explore the experienced challenges in translating national level strategies into local level urban development practices. Through conducting action research, the project also aims to create a positive change in the number of municipalities who have included climate change in their urban agendas.
Cities in the Face of Climate Crisis and Earthquake Risks: Integrated Policies for Local Administrations
2018/19 Mercator/IPC Fellow Ender Peker and Çankaya University Faculty Member Ezgi Orhan's policy brief "Cities in the Face of Climate Crisis and Earthquake Risks: Integrated Policies for Local Administrations (İklim Krizi ve Deprem Riskleri Karşısında Kentler: Yerel Yönetimler İçin Bütünleşik Politikalar) was published in December 2020.
Click here to download the document.
Re-thinking the Production of Urban Built Environments in the Face of Climate Change
2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ender Peker's article "Re-thinking the Production of Urban Built Environments in the Face of Climate Change" was published in Urban Research&Practice on July 27, 2020.
Production of Climate Responsive Urban Built Environments
The proceedings book of the conference “Production of Climate Responsive Urban Built Environments,” convened by 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ender Peker on May 22-24, 2019 at IPC Karaköy and the Netherlands Consulate, was published.
Click here to download the document.
Cities in a Changing Climate: Reduction and Adaptation Policies for Local Governance
2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows Cem İskender Aydın and Ender Peker’s policy brief “Cities in a Changing Climate: Reduction and Adaptation Policies for Local Governance (Değişen İklimde Kentler: Yerel Yönetimler için Azaltım ve Uyum Politikaları) ” was published in September 2019.
Click here to download the document.
Exploring the Ways in Which Campus Open Space Design Influences Students' Learning Experiences
2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ender Peker and Anlı Ataöv's article "Exploring the Ways in Which Campus Open Space Design Influences Students’ Learning Experiences" was published in Landscape Research on June 2, 2019.
"Nasıl bir Dünya? Nasıl bir Türkiye?" with Ezgi Orhan and Ender Peker
Ezgi Orhan and Ender Peker participated in the 48th episode titled "Cities in the Face of Earthquake Risk and Climate Crisis" of the program “Nasıl Bir Dünya? Nasıl Bir Türkiye?”, prepared in collaboration with the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) and Medyascope.
“Nasıl bir Dünya? Nasıl bir Türkiye?” with Ümit Şahin and Ender Peker
We spoke with IPM Climate Change Studies Coordinator and public health expert Dr. Ümit Şahin and 2018/19 Mercator-IPM Researcher Dr. Ender Peker, who were guests in the 22nd episode of the program “Nasıl bir Dünya? Nasıl bir Türkiye?" prepared with the contributions of the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC), about how public health should be protected during heat waves, especially in big cities, and the precautions that should be taken, and what steps local governments should take in this regard.
Welcoming of the 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows
We welcome our 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows, Cem İskender Aydın, Annegret Warth, Jannes Tessmann, Ender Peker, Maissam Nimer, Yohanan Benhaim, and Joanna Krzeminska.
Cem İskender Aydın | Assessing Multi-level Governance Using Participatory Multi-criteria Evaluation Frameworks: The Case of Windfarm Conflicts in Turkey
Annegret Warth | Municipalities as Actors of Youth Exchange?! An Exemplary Case Analysis of Youth Work and Local Governance Structures in Turkey
Jannes Tessmann | Multi-scalar Labor Governance in EU-Turkey Garment Value Chains: Challenges and Potentials for Workplace Integration of Refugees
Ender Peker | Producing Actionable Knowledge to Achieve Climate Responsive Urban Development in Turkey
Maissam Nimer | Access of Syrian Refugee Adults to Language Instruction
Yohanan Benhaim | Turkish Business People and the War in Iraq: Impacts and Prospects in Trade and Construction Sectors
Joanna Krzeminska | Refugees and Elementary School in Istanbul - Inclusion of Young Refugees through Cultural Education
Climate Café Talks 23 - ''How to Plan Cities Prepared for Earthquakes and Climate Disasters?''
The twenty-third of the Climate Café Talks series took place with Ender Peker and Ezgi Orhan's talk on ''How to Plan Cities Prepared for Earthquakes and Climate Disasters? (Depreme ve İklim Afetlerine Hazırlıklı Kentler Nasıl Planlanır?)" on April 5, 2023.
Please click here to watch the event.
Please click here for more information about the Climate Cafe Talks.
Co-creating Solutions for the Challenges of Municipal Level Climate Action in Turkey
2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ender Peker convened a workshop for “Co-creating Solutions for the Challenges of Municipal Level Climate Action in Turkey (Türkiye'de Belediye Düzeyindeki İklim Eyleminin Zorlukları için Birlikte Çözüm Üretmek)” on October 17, 2019 at IPC Karaköy.
Challenges of Retrofitting Existing Housing Stock to Achieve CO2 Reduction Targets
2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ender Peker co-organized a workshop on the “Challenges of Retrofitting Existing Housing Stock to Achieve CO2 Reduction Targets (Karbon Azaltım Hedeflerine Ulaşmak için Var Olan Konutları Güçlendirmenin Zorlukları)” with Kadıköy Municipality on October 10, 2019 at IPC Karaköy.
“Production of Climate Responsive Urban Built Environments” Conference
2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ender Peker convened a conference titled “Production of Climate Responsive Urban Built Environments” on May 22-24, 2019 at IPC Karaköy and the Netherlands Consulate. The first public lecture of the conference on “Urban and Global Scale Climate Science” was given by Prof. Gerald Mills from the University College Dublin on May 22, 2019 at IPC Karaköy. The second public lecture of the conference on “Evolutionary Resilience, Relational Space and Adaptive Planning” was given by Prof. Simin Davoudi from Newcastle University on May 23, 2019 at IPC Karaköy.
Climate Café Talks 8 – An Urban Development Problem: Providing Urban Thermal Comfort
As the eighth event in the Climate Café Talks series, 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellow Ender Peker’s talk on “An Urban Development Problem: Providing Urban Thermal Comfort (Bir Şehircilik Problemi: Kentsel Termal Konforu Sağlamak)” took place on May 8, 2019 at IPC Karaköy.
Please click here for more information about the Climate Cafe Talks.
Welcoming of the 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows
The Welcoming of the 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows was held on October 8, 2018 at Salon IKSV. The event marked the seventh cycle of the Mercator-IPC Fellowship Program of the IPC-Sabancı University-Stiftung Mercator Initiative.
The event began with welcoming remarks by Director Fuat Keyman, followed by remarks from the Chairman of the Advisory Board at Stiftung Mercator, Rüdiger Frohn. The welcoming remarks were followed by a movie screening that introduced 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Senior Fellows Atila Eralp and Özcan Mutlu and the 2018/19 Mercator-IPC Fellows Annegret Warth, Cem İskender Aydın, Ender Peker, Jannes Tessmann, Joanna Krzeminska, Maissam Nimer, and Yohanan Benhaim.
