In summer school, we aim to think about the city and ecological issues in relation to each other. We read and discuss major texts in urban political ecology literature, and also consider how Istanbul can be rediscovered and studied in the framework of this exciting research field. The summer school, which differs from conventional pedagogical methods by bringing the classroom to the roads of Istanbul, is shaped around field trips in neighborhoods, parks, and gardens as well as a range of reading material. We discuss urban transformations and their social and ecological impacts within a theoretical framework.