Yavuz Erdal Kayapınar

Director General of Spatial Planning, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization of Turkey

He graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of City and Regional Planning. He completed his master's degree in Urbanism Department of ITU, Faculty of Architecture in 1992.

From 1988 to 1990, he worked as a city planner in the private sector. In 1990, he started to work as a city planner at the Undersecretariat of Environment.

Due to changes in institutional structures he worked at the Undersecretariat of Environment (1990-1991), the Ministry of Environment (1991-2003), the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (2003-2011) and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization (2011-). Between 2003 and 2011, he served as the Head of Planning Department at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Since 2011, he has served as the Counsellor to the Minister and Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. In 2014, he was appointed as the Director General of Spatial Planning in the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization.

During his career, he worked on conservation areas, zoning plans, territorial planning, strategic environmental assessment and harmonization with EU Legislation. He served as a member and rapporteur in the Environment Council, Urbanization Councils and Specialized Commissions of Development Plans. He is a member of the Supreme Council of Cultural Heritage and the Central Commission of Natural Heritage. He participated in international meetings on spatial planning and urbanization. He took part in the national focal point of the UN Habitat Program and in the Habitat III Conference and preparation process.

Currently Yavuz Erdal Kayapınar is the Director General of Spatial Planning at the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. He is married and has two children.