The analysis of quarantine implementations in ports in terms of urban safety: Izmir case

Safety is one of the most primary needs of humanity. Advancement of science and technology, globalisation and facilititation of trades have caused an increase in the international passenger traffic, which have brought about many safety issues along the way; such as compromised food safety, swiftly spreading pandemics, increasing crime rates and even terror attacks. One of these security problems for port cities is the dangers that can infiltrate the city from the ports, which are the most important part of the city: this can adversely affect human, animal and plant health or lead to environmental problems. It is of great importance to prevent these dangers from being moved to the city by taking the necessary precautions in cooperation and coordination by the competent institutions. Studies are also being carried out internationally for this purpose. In our country, Public health measures in the ports are implemented by Coastal Health Inspection Centers under the Directorate General of Health Services for Borders and Coasts of Turkey within the scope of International Health Regulations adopted in 2005, enacted in 2007. Within this scope, one of the measures taken in ports is quarantine practices. In the study, the effect of quarantine practices in ports on urban safety is evaluated through the Izmir example. Study has been conducted primarily through the analysis bureaucratic structure, legislation and practices. Then the data obtained by the semi-structured interview technique has been analyzed. In the light of these data, it was concluded that public health practices in the ports contribute positively to ensuring urban safety. Based on the data obtained from the study, it would not be wrong to say that the failure of these practices would cause some problems in the city. Keywords: Quarantine, public health measures, International Health Regulations, port, port city, urban safety.