Abstract
In urban areas, land-use changes and urban form are often influenced by the compulsory demands of immediate population changes. With rapidly growing populations, cities often experience negative impacts on urban landscapes, such as in slums and during the growth of urban sprawl. However, the sustainability of cities can be managed by paying attention to the ecological integrity of both the built and natural environments. The present study aims to present a landscape scenario development to enhance ecological integrity in landscape planning via the patch-corridor-matrix model. The research deals with the Sariyer district of Istanbul and its immediate surroundings. A detailed investigation of landscape structure and the function of the fundamental landscape components were defined via GIS applications, while landscape metrics of these components were interpreted through the FRAGSTATS program. The method of the study relies on a combination of ecological principles, policies, regulations, and the approach of the actors involved in urban planning and development processes. The study enabled structuring a cultural and ecological landscape planning strategy, and the results point out how to define the valuable landscape components that should be protected during urban growth development. Eventually, the research enriches the classical methods of understanding landscape patterns under urban pressure and presents a method to develop an ecological landscape planning strategy to be integrated with a variety of urban growth and land use – land cover change studies.
Meliz Akyol Alay