Measurement and evaluation of urban growth and urban sprawl: Tekirdağ Example

Abstract

With the increasing population, today's cities are undergoing rapid change and transformation. Increased human activities in cities result in numerous negative outcomes, such as the decline in biodiversity, increased environmental pollution, and the disruption of ecosystem cycles, ultimately leading to the degradation of nature. Especially, the uncontrolled growth and expansion of cities in response to increasing needs and demands can result in inappropriate land use, putting natural resources under pressure and leading to their loss. Indeed, especially in cities that are experiencing rapid population growth, this situation is more evident. In this context, urban sprawl, which indicates urban spread, has many negative effects if not managed correctly. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate urban growth and detect urban sprawl in three districts of Tekirdağ province, namely Süleymanpaşa, Çorlu, and Çerkezköy, which have been receiving rapid immigration and thus have seen a significant increase in their populations. In line with this, using the high-resolution data from the Urban Atlas, the land use situation for the years 2012 and 2018 has been presented. The results have shown an increase in artificial areas and a decrease in agricultural lands for all districts. For the detection of urban sprawl, the Normalized Urban Atlas Sprawl Indicator (NUASI) developed by Petrescu (2019) has been utilized. According to the NUASI findings, the urban sprawl trend in the Süleymanpaşa, Çorlu, and Çerkezköy have been determined as -1.90%, 0.70%, and 0.96%, respectively. This result indicates that Çerkezköy is the district with the highest urban sprawl development. Recommendations for spatial planning have been provided within the scope of the study.