Population on Istanbul's Princes islands to rise more than fivefold if new construction plan is accepted

A plan that would pave the way for far-flung construction on Istanbul's Princes Islands "Adalar" has been presented to an Istanbul preservation board. If the plan is approved, the population on the islands, recorded as 14,000 in the last census conducted seven years ago, will grow apace to 76,000. 

The construction plan of a 1/1000 scale disregards a coastal-zone construction ban imposed for a space of 50 meters into the land from the sea, as enforced by the Turkish Coastal Law, and holds the risk of allowing the islands' shores to be zoned for construction. 

A different conservation development plan for the islands was in fact prepared in 2011 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, with the scale of 1/5000. But after being widely criticized by the Chamber of Architects and Chamber of City Planners on the grounds that it increased the population density, decreased the use of public space, legalized unlicensed constructions, and opened the roads to motor vehicles on the island, the issue was then taken to an administrative court. As the case was still ongoing, the Adalar Municipality offered another conservation development plan, proposing a scale of 1/1000.   

The new plan was approved by both the council of the Adalar Municipality and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The only approval the plan needs now for it to be executed is from the 5th department of the Istanbul Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board.

The plan includes the islands Büyükada, Kınalıada, Burgazada, and Heybeliada and excludes Yassıada, Sivriada, and the Sedef Island, as the construction plans of the latter islands were accepted by Environment and Urbanization Ministry in 2013. 

The preservation board is expected to give the green...