SABAH has acquired the details behind Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent announcement of plans to "provide children cities with parks instead of piles of concrete."
According to the project prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, amendments to be made to the development plan law will include special attention paid to providing for children's sensibilities including areas of greenery.
Accordingly, parks will be designated for all of the nation's cities, counties, districts and neighborhoods and municipalities that do not involve the development of parks in proposals, will not be granted permission.
Although municipalities were required to provide parks in the past, according to the authority granted to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization by the new legislation, municipalities may now be subjected to sanctions should they not fulfill the duty of providing recreational areas for residents. While the most important element of the project is the development of parks and areas of greenery for children, in addition the new code will also include regulations on providing recreational equipment based on the area population. From here on out, all residential areas will have neighborhood, district and county parks.
BIKE PATHS AND RECREATIONAL AREAS
Due to unstructured development, areas of greenery within the city have been demolished, while due to the danger involved with being close to roads; children's playgrounds have practically disappeared. According to the new development plan however, establishing bike paths and parks will now take priority.
In addition to setting up recreational areas, where children can safely engage in physical activities, including basketball and football courts, bike paths will also be designated within cities.
Taking heed to the warnings that the current generation in Turkey is spending too much time in front of computers and less time engaged in physical activities, the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning is now making it mandatory that all districts have city parks in which families can spend time with their children outdoors. These areas will be completely protected and will include recreational facilities in order for families to be able to have picnics and play sports.
Citizens requested and the Prime Minister made the orders
Ever since the start of talk of urban transformation, citizens have been pouring in requests to have areas where they can play with their children, which is why supposedly the Prime Minister has made this a priority. The ministry has relayed the sensitivity of the issue to municipalities that have begun engaging in renewal projects. Since then, the ministry refused to approve development plans which did not include a park or designated area of greenery by Istanbul's Tuzla Municipality, meanwhile Hadımköy, which plans to build a giant park, was granted development permission.
This is a translation of an article originally written by Mehmet Ali Berber.
Turkish Airlines won the Skytrax award for Europe's Best Airline for a third time and was also given two other awards.
English investors have not paid heed to the coverage in the international media painting a negative portrait of Turkey during the Gezi Park protests and continue to keep the country on its radar for investments. 
Turkey has become the fastest growing nation for luxurious automobile brands. While luxurious brands experienced seven percent growth globally in the first five months of the year, in Turkey the rate of growth has reached the 100 percentile level. 
While the English press continues to cover the Gezi Park protests to Turkey’s detriment, the British Prime Minister has praised Turkey’s ‘stability.’ David Cameron says “we admire your economy.”
With the Central Bank’s deferred interest rate cut resulting in revitalizing domestic demand, Turkey’s economy experienced three percent growth in the first quarter of the year, sealing 14 quarters of continuous growth. 
The Capital Markets Board has initiated an investigation into exits from the stock exchange by speculators, in a move which followed Erdoğan’s acknowledgement of attempts by the interest rate lobby to instigate a drop in the stock exchange. Should the Capitals Market Board establish a connection between financial exists and speculators sanctions may be enforced.
Çalık Holding has released a statement refuting claims made in reports by CNBC attempting to associate the group with redevelopment plans for Taksim’s Gezi Park.
Saudi Arabian businessman Ehsaan Fareed Abduljawad has purchased two towers in the Ağaoğlu Maslak 1453 project for 200 million dollars. “We trust in Turkey’s economy,” said the billionaire. 
The speculative attack on the markets came to a halt following Prime Minister Erdoğan’s statement directed at the interest-rates lobby, “We will not let you consume the great efforts of our nation.” The dollar has since dropped and the stock exchange is back on a rising trend. 
During the past five days there has been a polemic concerning the boycott of the Moroccan Business Confederation (CGEM) of a meeting between Turkish and Moroccan businessmen which took place during Erdoğan’s trip to Morocco on June 3rd. While the decision had nothing to do with the on-going protests in Istanbul and other cities, the real reason is proving to be an internal conflict between the CGEM and the Moroccan government.
The ‘economic’ demands set forth by the Taksim Platform, which spoke on behalf of the Gezi Park protesters in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Arınç on Wednesday, have resulted in a number of question marks. The main question being, why are they opposed to projects worth 120 billion such as the third bridge and airport, hydroelectric power plants and Canal Istanbul?
Tosyalı Holding opened a 750 million dollar steel-iron factory in Algeria in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Expected to rake in an annual one billion dollar revenue, the facility will also provide one thousand jobs.
The Occupy Wall Street movement did not pose a significant financial burden in the United States, whereas the financial burden brought on in Turkey from the Gezi Park protests is exponential. 
It will now be required to place health warnings on the glass portions of water pipes, regularly referred to as ‘nargile’ in Turkey.
