It’s About Time: Implementing the Right to Time in the Marmara Region

By: Marc Martorell Escofet, Time Use Initiative

The truth is that, no matter where one lives, we often find ourselves with insufficient hours in our day to accomplish everything. Such an issue, while felt individually, is related to how our schedules are organised, and can lead to experiencing the increasing phenomenon of time poverty: 37% of urban households in urban Türkiye suffer from a lack of sufficient time after paid work, unpaid care, studies, and personal needs.

Why Time Matters to Cities and Citizens?

Time poverty increases when various daily life activities are constrained by time: the more time one spends commuting, the more care work one needs to undertake, the longer one works, the less time one has available. It is a good indicator of urban well-being, as it can demonstrate where inequalities arise beyond material poverty: 34% of employed men and 59% of employed women in Türkiye are time poor.

The way time is organised depends on a social contract. For over two centuries, that contract was the “eight-hour triangle” — an ideal division of the day into eight hours for work, sleep, and rest. However, such an outdated distribution of time does not encompass daily life realities: in Türkiye, women spend 19% of their time doing unpaid care and domestic work (as compared to 3.7% of men’s time), and the rising sleep deprivation— which not only has a direct effect on health, but in the overall economy (with loses up to 1 to 2% of GDP).

In metropolitan contexts, such as Marmara Region, the temporal dimension of the urban environment has a direct relation to climate adaptation and mitigation. Acceleration tied to urban lifestyles creates a discordance in natural regeneration processes, such as hydrological cycles or nutrient flows. But, more importantly, mobility times are a rising concern, with a constant of approximately 1 hour, or 1 hour and 30 minutes in megacities, as the maximum commute time that individuals are willing to tolerate. The need for coordinating rush hour in highly populated regions is an emerging issue.

What Can Cities Do to Ensure the Right to Time?

Under such challenges, cities and regions are responding with an emerging civic right: the right to time. This is the recognition of our fundamental need for a proper balance between work, care, rest, and leisure. It reframes the old model, replacing the “eight-hour triangle” with a “life-balance diamond”. By advocating for a more balanced approach, the right to time directly tackles societal issues of gender inequality, sustainability, and community well-being.

For implementing the right to time, new public policies with time at their core need to be devised. Although different in approach, they call for innovative strategies that put forward the public provision of time. Depending on the political priorities, they focus on reducing inefficiencies, such as urban congestion; others seek to ease the burden on those balancing care and work; and there are even those exploring how to enhance well-being by recognising the fundamental role of rest and recovery in human health and productivity.

To create reliable and accountable structures, cities can deploy new institutional tools. They can establish a Time Office, a technical department responsible for gathering evidence, led by a Time Chief Officer, a high-level coordinator ensuring time policies are implemented across all government sectors. By using data and indicators, such as time-use surveys, they can devise a powerful, data-driven tool for participatory governance, diagnosing needs segmented by gender, age, and social dimension.

When cities use time as a basis for public policy, they aim to strategically harmonise the rhythms of work, care, public and private services, and urban schedules with individual, family, or community needs to create more efficient, equitable, and human-centred urban environments.

Let’s see some examples:

·         Rush hour alleviation: Implementing graduated scheduling and incentive systems to distribute peak-hour demand enhances quality of life, reduces stress, and supports environmental sustainability. Good practices: Rennes (“Hyper-Point”), Dubai (“Traffic Flow Plan”).

·         Care time visualisation: This policy directly supports social equity by valuing unpaid care work and integrating it into economic  policies. Good practices: Bogotá (“Care Blocks”), Montevideo (“Communal Laundry”).

·         Proximity urbanism: Developing urban areas with essential services within short distances promotes community cohesion, reduces stress from long commutes, and enhances local economies. Good practices: Paris (“15-Minute City”), Ciudad de México (“Utopías”).

·         Urban lighting adaptation: Optimising urban lighting improves safety and resource efficiency, fostering inclusivity and security in public spaces. Some approaches may include as well respect for natural life forms living in urban green areas, as well as their rhythms. Good practice: Strasbourg (“Dark Sections”).

·         Circadian wellness policy: By promoting policies that respect circadian rhythms in work, education, and healthcare settings, this approach improves public health outcomes and reduces stress-related illnesses. Good practice: Bad Kissingen (“ChronoCity”).

·         Chronobiological education: Adjusting school schedules to match students' biological rhythms promotes equity in education by accommodating diverse chronotypes. Good practices: New Orleans, Baltimore (“ExpandED Schools”).

·         Night Mayor: This policy ensures access to essential services during non-standard hours, supporting workers on night shifts and promoting safety. Good practices: London (“Night Czar”), Amsterdam (“Night Mayor”).

·         Time-use plan: Comprehensive time-use legislation and multi-stakeholder agreements create a balanced, efficient, and equitable time framework for society. Good practice: Barcelona (“Time Agreement”).

In July, the Time Academy demonstrated a great interest among Turkish policymakers and civil servants to assess whether they already had policies affecting the social organisation of time. And, with the Local and Regional Time Network participating in MARUF last September, municipalities within Marmara can pioneer the implementation of time policies in Türkiye. By embracing the right to time, the Marmara region can leverage new, evidence-based institutional infrastructures to design services that are more equitable, sustainable, and aligned with human well-being — and be recognised as one of the most innovative regions in the World.

The fifth edition of Urban, the compilation issue of the magazine Kent published by Marmara Municipalities Union with the motto “Cities Developing Solutions”, is now available. 

You can download the entire magazine by clicking here .