Sandy Beaches Changing in Line with Urbanization Visual Quality Values

Abstract

The coasts are the intersection area of land and sea ecosystems, where people are always interested and benefit from many activities. However, unplanned developments as a result of rapid population growth and migration in these regions are destroying the living environments necessary for all living things. Beaches are important coastal ecosystems. At the same time, it offers people many recreational opportunities such as entertainment and rest. They are the city's attractions. Increasing population, industrialization and urbanization endanger coastal ecosystems. Within the scope of this study, it was discussed how the landscape perception of the users changed with the construction of sandy beaches. It has been questioned which sandy beaches people prefer and why. The study was carried out in Trabzon, a coastal province located in the eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey. Turkey is a country that hosts different geomorphological units and has intense natural and human interaction. The most used beach in Trabzon has been researched. SPPS and AHP methods were used as statistical methods within the scope of the study. As a result of the study, it has been revealed that natural sandy beaches are more important in terms of biodiversity, in terms of visual quality. At the same time, it is seen that people want to go to all three alternatives at the same rate. This means that people prefer sandy beaches no matter what. At the same time, on the sandy beaches where urbanization is intense, the results and biodiversity are very low in terms of naturalness parameters.