Analysis of urban growth in developing countries and strategies for sprawl management: The case of Izmir

El crecimiento urbano es un fenómeno complejo y multidimensional, que constituye objeto de estudio para un amplio abanico de disciplinas, como la geografía, la sociología, las ciencias económicas y del medio ambiente. La expansión desordenada de las ciudades, definida en sentido amplio por la baja densidad, el aprovechamiento disperso e ineficiente de la tierra y sus recursos, es una de las más cuestionadas formas de crecimiento en el campo de la planificación urbana. En las últimas décadas, se ha ido tomando especial conciencia de los efectos indeseables de tal crecimiento descontrolado en relación con el paradigma de desarrollo sostenible. La gestión del mismo, en expresión referida al conjunto de estrategias y herramientas para regular el uso del paisaje urbano y la expansión de la ciudad, se ha convertido en política espacial explícita en muchas ciudades y áreas metropolitanas. Debates teóricos e implementaciones de tipo práctico en torno a la gestión del crecimiento desordenado de las ciudades se han demostrado, en su mayoría, insuficientes para los países en vías de desarrollo, incluida Turquía. Como resultado de la urbanización acelerada y del continuo crecimiento demográfico, las principales ciudades turcas se han enfrentado a este problema. Ante semejante situación, y con miras a obtener soluciones más sostenibles, ha sido necesario elaborar políticas bien estructuradas y reglamentar el crecimiento descontrolado tanto a nivel local como regional. Este estudio se propone explorar las posibles políticas y estrategias adecuadas de gestión del crecimiento problemático en las ciudades turcas. A tal propósito examina dicho concepto y las estrategias para su gestión en ciudades occidentales con buenos ejemplos de implementación y sus efectos. Seguidamente examina la naturaleza del crecimiento descontrolado en países en vías de desarrollo, centrándose en el análisis empírico del área metropolitana de Izmir, tercera ciudad de Turquía por tamaño. Para ello se ha servido de varios indicadores espaciales que incluyen la población, la densidad demográfica, las áreas edificadas por habitante así como el territorio urbanizado por habitante y por año, en 1975, 1990, 2000 y 2014, describiendo el proceso de urbanización y evaluando el nivel de crecimiento descontrolado en Izmir. Para concluir, y como resultado del precedente análisis, se identifican y discuten las posibles estrategias de gestión de tal expansión en el área metropolitana de esta ciudad turca.Urban growth is a multidimensional and complex phenomenon that is subject of a wide range of disciplines such as geography, sociology, economy and environmental sciences. Urban sprawl, which is defined in a broad sense as low density, dispersed and inefficient use of land and resources, is one of the most debated form of urban growth in the field of urban planning. There have been a growing awareness especially on undesired impacts of uncontrolled urban sprawl in recent decades as a part of sustainable development paradigm. Urban sprawl management, which refers to a common term to circumscribe strategies and tools to regulate urban land use and urban expansion, has become an explicit spatial policy in many metropolitan areas and cities. Theoretical debates and practical implementations on urban sprawl and its management have been rather insufficient in developing countries, including Turkey. As a result of rapid urbanization and continuing population growth, major cities in Turkey have been facing with the problem of uncontrolled urban growth and sprawl. To deal with this problem and achieve more sustainable solutions for cities, well-structured policies and regulations for the management of urban sprawl have to be established, at both local and regional levels. This study aims at exploring potential sprawl management policies and strategies suitable for Turkish cities. For the purpose, it examines the concept of urban sprawl and sprawl management strategies in western cities together with the implemented good examples and their impacts. Then, it explores the nature of urban sprawl in developing countries with an empirical analysis, which explores urban sprawl in İzmir Metropolitan City, the third largest city in Turkey. It uses several spatial indicators including the population, population density, built-up areas per inhabitant and annual land taken for built-up per inhabitant, for the years 1975, 1990, 2000 and 2014, to explore urbanization process and to measure level of urban sprawl in İzmir. Finally, using the outcomes of the analyses, it identifies and discusses potential sprawl management strategies for İzmir Metropolitan City

Deprivation Analysis in Declining Inner City Residential Areas: A Case Study From Izmir, Turkey.

The aim of this paper is to examine the inner city decline in Turkey, by drawing on a field research, which was conducted in Izmir, Tuzcu District, in 2005. The paper places the inner city decline within the context of uneven development. Although inner city decline backgrounded by uneven and dual structure is very common for all capitalist cities in developed countries, this phenomenon incarnated as segregated and neglected areas, which become both socially and spatially declining parts of the city, is relatively new for Turkey. In order to explore this phenomenon in Turkey and to compare it to those in other countries, we had to consider the level and nature of segregation and deprivation indicators that have already been developed by the existing works elaborating on inner city decline. One of the mostly used tools for examining the declining inner-city residential areas is “deprivation index†formed by Townsend in 1990s. The general deprivation index comprises two fundamental sections: social deprivation and material deprivation. Social deprivation includes the indicators such as employment, family activity, integration, participation to social institutions, recreation, and education. Material deprivation consists of the indicators such as dietary, clothing, housing, home facilities, environment, location, and working conditions. The analysis of the data coming from 2005 field survey in the Tuzcu district of Izmir showed that some indicators such as poverty, unemployment, decline of physical environment, disinvestments and economic decline arise as having similar features with developed countries, and that segregation is visible when our research area, Tuzcu district, is compared to other parts of Izmir. However, regarding segregation within the district itself, it is not so acceptable feature. Moreover, findings of the survey indicated that segregation in Tuzcu District, as being different from the developed countries, is fundamentally defined by class or income structure, rather than ethnic or regional origins.

Uneven development and declining inner city residential areas: The case of İzmir-Tuzcu District

Thesis (Master)--Izmir Institute of Technology, City and Regional Planning, Izmir, 2005Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 98-101)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishviii, 106 leavesIzmir, being the third largest city of Turkey has experienced rapid urbanization after 1950s and especially after 1980s. Similar to the other metropolitan cities of Turkey, İzmir presents a dual structure including the growing and declining parts of the city. Within the conceptual framework of uneven development, the thesis examines the decline process of inner residential areas of İzmir in the case of Tuzcu District (a central district) by presenting current structure of the district and comparing with the past. The theory of uneven development is one of the foremost approaches to explain the recent changes and the transformations occurring in cities within the Marxist paradigm. Capital accumulation processes and class relations have an essential role in the process of uneven development of cities. The city or built environment itself is commodified by the capital since the capital moves through the built environment itself in search of returns across an uneven and changing ground-rent surface. In the capitalist system, the main purpose of the capitalists is to gain profit by investing property in the city, where it provides the maximum returns. So with the effects of movement of capital within the built environment, some parts of the city develop while the other parts decline. This unevenness is very common for all capitalist cities in the developed countries. As a part of the dual structure of cities, the phenomenon of urban decline is discussed widely in developed countries. On the other hand, the phenomenon of urban decline is relatively new for Turkey as well as in other developing countries compared to the developed countries. In Turkey, the process of urbanization of capital had begun particularly at 1980s and this continuing period has more striking patterns of uneven development in urban areas on account of the increasing hegemony of capital on urbanization process. It is certain that the capital had inevitably been one of the main diagnostic elements of initial urbanization process in Turkey. In this framework, the phenomenon of inner city residential decline is examined using the concept of deprivation as a methodological tool. The deprivation level of Tuzcu District is measured in terms of both material and social aspects. Finally, general features of Tuzcu District as a declining area have presented comparing with the developed countries in terms of poverty, unemployment, segregation, decline of physical environment, disinvestments and economic decline, decline of public education, and health

Uneven development and declining inner city residential areas: The case of İzmir-Tuzcu District

Thesis (Master)--Izmir Institute of Technology, City and Regional Planning, Izmir, 2005Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 98-101)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishviii, 106 leavesIzmir, being the third largest city of Turkey has experienced rapid urbanization after 1950s and especially after 1980s. Similar to the other metropolitan cities of Turkey, İzmir presents a dual structure including the growing and declining parts of the city. Within the conceptual framework of uneven development, the thesis examines the decline process of inner residential areas of İzmir in the case of Tuzcu District (a central district) by presenting current structure of the district and comparing with the past. The theory of uneven development is one of the foremost approaches to explain the recent changes and the transformations occurring in cities within the Marxist paradigm. Capital accumulation processes and class relations have an essential role in the process of uneven development of cities. The city or built environment itself is commodified by the capital since the capital moves through the built environment itself in search of returns across an uneven and changing ground-rent surface. In the capitalist system, the main purpose of the capitalists is to gain profit by investing property in the city, where it provides the maximum returns. So with the effects of movement of capital within the built environment, some parts of the city develop while the other parts decline. This unevenness is very common for all capitalist cities in the developed countries. As a part of the dual structure of cities, the phenomenon of urban decline is discussed widely in developed countries. On the other hand, the phenomenon of urban decline is relatively new for Turkey as well as in other developing countries compared to the developed countries. In Turkey, the process of urbanization of capital had begun particularly at 1980s and this continuing period has more striking patterns of uneven development in urban areas on account of the increasing hegemony of capital on urbanization process. It is certain that the capital had inevitably been one of the main diagnostic elements of initial urbanization process in Turkey. In this framework, the phenomenon of inner city residential decline is examined using the concept of deprivation as a methodological tool. The deprivation level of Tuzcu District is measured in terms of both material and social aspects. Finally, general features of Tuzcu District as a declining area have presented comparing with the developed countries in terms of poverty, unemployment, segregation, decline of physical environment, disinvestments and economic decline, decline of public education, and health