World Town Planning Day 2026: Special Screening of Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits

As part of the global celebration of World Urbanism Day (World Town Planning Day) on 8 November, the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Fine Arts will host a special screening of the award-winning documentary  Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits (2011), directed by İmre Azem.

The film presents a compelling and critical exploration of neoliberal urbanization in Istanbul, depicting a city where ecological, economic, and population thresholds have been exceeded and social harmony increasingly disrupted. Through a comprehensive narrative—from demolished informal settlements to skyscrapers, from the depths of the Marmara Sea to the route of the third Bosporus bridge—the documentary examines the forces shaping contemporary urban transformation and invites viewers to question, rather than merely observe, these changes.

Ecumenopolis  has received significant international recognition, including the Human Rights Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Istanbul Urban and Architecture Film Festival, the New Talent Award at Documentarist Istanbul, the Turkish Cinema Critics Award for Best Documentary, and selection as the Opening Film at the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam.

We warmly invite all faculty members and students to join us for this screening and to engage in a meaningful reflection on the challenges and dynamics of urbanization in the 21st century.