Istanbul Gets Caught Between Housing Crunch and Earthquake Risk

For a city with a high risk of earthquakes, the seven-story apartment building in Istanbul’s Bostancı neighborhood seemed like a relatively safe bet when PhD student Yiğit was looking for a place to rent last year. He was told by the unit’s owner that the 40-year-old structure, a former lodging for government tax collectors, had been seismically reinforced after a deadly tremblor in 1999.

But after a pair of catastrophic quakes struck Turkey’s southeast region on Feb. 6, residents decided to get the building inspected “just to be sure,” said Yiğit. Three weeks later, the results came back: the apartment was in serious danger of collapse and would have to be vacated and demolished. The dilemma for Yiğit and his flatmate was where to move.