Abstract
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (UN, 1987). In the last 20 years following this statement, world population suffered by numerous natural and man- made disasters so that they strived to protect their own existence prior to the future. However, most of the disasters were caused by un-sustainable attitudes of politicians, decision makers and communities. In this paper, the concept of sustainability will be discussed related to economic effects of probable earthquake in Istanbul. The study focuses on the economic losses by two different earthquake scenarios where replacement costs of damaged housing units and business interruption have been discussed. The results show that even in the worst case, there are always prevention measures to be taken to reduce impacts of an extreme event. In the case of Istanbul, the risks are not expanded homogenously in the city wide. Therefore, pioneered by the previous comprehensive strategic plans, the probable economic losses which reflect the current situation can be diminished in short or medium term period.
