Our founder, Alim Murathan, implemented Turkey’s first nature-based stormwater infrastructure system by developing the “SpongeCity İzmir” project within İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. During his consultancy role, a unique institutional structure was established for the first time in a local government in Turkey, forming the “Water Resources Research and Implementation Center,” which brought together multidisciplinary experts and laid the foundations of the country’s first sponge city model.
Implemented between September 2021 and May 2025, SpongeCity İzmir integrated nature-based stormwater solutions with the city’s conventional drainage and combined sewer systems. Within this framework, numerous pilot practices were carried out across the city:
Distribution of 5,000 rainwater tanks to 5,000 buildings,
Construction of 10,000 rain gardens,
Green bus stops and rainwater harvesting stations,
Rainwater harvesting and green transformation in a pilot cemetery area,
Sponge parking lots and flood parks,
Turkey’s first biological infiltration pond in Ödemiş, capable of storing 60,000 m³ of water underground,
Recharge wells, infiltration ponds and cisterns for groundwater replenishment in the Küçük Menderes Basin,
Distribution of 2,000 rainwater filtration tanks,
Sponge schools,
Turkey’s first “sponge village” in Karaburun Sarpıncık,
Ecological corridor development in İzmir streams – the pilot “Dere Express” project.
SpongeCity İzmir presents a climate-resilient urban vision that integrates green infrastructure, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and nature-based solutions into the urban water cycle. The project received an award from Akdeniz University in 2025 and continues to inspire cities across Turkey.
