Uploaded on 2016-04-29 by Camelialay

Safety, Education, Healthcare, Job opportunities, Environment. **2. Why do we live where we live?** I chose to live in Istanbul because the environmental conditions are suitable, the climate has an average temperature and the city land is covering both European and Asian continents, as we move from a side to another we notice both the difference of the climate and the topography with its infrastructures. The localization is also important since it's considered as a melting pot of cultures, englobing middle-east and European culture, therefore, many artistic events especially music are created constantly. The Education was also suitable for me since I am following a program taught in English however the Turkish language is always present which creates the bilingual diversity. ![Bicontinental city][1] **3. To what extend does your own place of residence fulfill your ideal livability criteria?** Safety 70% Education 80% Healthcare 50% Job opportunities 90% Environment 95% General score of livability of Istanbul: 70% **4. What would you change?** I pointed out two big issues during my staying here, the first is the disbalance between the road infrastructures and the means of transport. As the city's population number plateau 15 million and keep increasing, maintaining an organized flux of circulation will be a challenge in the future. The second issue is the urban planning, the latest trend here is to deforest suburbs to create huge and costing residential areas, however by moving those residential places the common institutions remain in the center (administrations, workplaces..) As the city is expanding, zoned residential areas with multiple center districts may be a solution, the re-planning of the urban landscape can be considered since some zones are built without following the usual standards. **5. Why do we move?** Instead of writing where I would move, I will rather mention where I have already been since I lived in two different countries before Turkey. **1. Marrakesh, Morocco** ![][2] Considering the environment, climate, safety and the international connectivity criteria, morocco is at some points a livable country. However, basic needs that concern the welfare of the individual are missing such as equal healthcare services, qualified education, and free cultural activities. Those reasons pushed me somehow to avoid settling there. **2. Paris, France** ![][3] Stating that it's a developed country compared to the last one, my list of top criteria was partially fulfilled. Safety, Healthcare, and Education were highly satisfactory however both the social and urban environment were stifling, the level of stress was highly noticeable worsened by the housing crisis and the high cost of living, also the job market about to be saturated launched a doubt on my initiative of settlement. [1]: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_cMeBwyAfIQ/maxresdefault.jpg [2]: http://nomadexperience.com/img/tours/kech1.jpg [3]: http://architrip.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/10-11-25-VAlode-Pistre-Bercy-631x408.jpg