Land Cover Monitoring Techniques and Spatial Development: The Case of Capital of Turkey

Abstract

After the declaration of Ankara as the capital city of Turkey in 1923, the size of the city was identified to be insufficient to cope with the developmental and spatial needs of the city. In this study, the analysis and detection of land cover changes were conducted for the last three decades with ten-year time interval by using remotely sensed satellite data in Ankara to monitor the change in land cover, and growth and development of the city. Four classes; manmade area, land area, green area, and water area were created for each year images to assess change in land cover in central neighborhoods of Ankara. Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) and Random Forest (RF) algorithms were performed and classification results were compared. Overall classification accuracy and overall kappa statistics computed as 85%-92% and between 0.78-0.87 for MLC algorithm, respectively. Comparing with MLC algorithm, RF algorithm’s performance was unsatisfied. As a second step of this study, administrative data of Ankara such as population, land use types, number of buildings and flats, and spatial development relationships were analyzed in integration with remote sensing data results to analyses land development in Ankara.

Directions of land degradation in the greater Istanbul metropolitan area: A view from four decades

“…However, as Aliefendioğlu et al, (2022) research on Ankara shows, insufficient protection of natural resources has contributed to the decline of forests, grassland, and agricultural areas. The results of Aliefendioğlu et al, (2022) and the results of our study for Istanbul highlight the significant impact of conservation on reducing LD and anthropogenic pressure. The scale of degradation on the northern coast of Istanbul was significantly lesser than along the south coast and the Bosporus Strait due to the presence of nature conservation zones.…”

“…A third bridge over the Bosphorus Strait crossing the northern forests, the third airport on the northern coast, and ongoing urban sprawl in the northern regions intensify this threat, underscoring the urgency to address urban expansion. However, as Aliefendioğlu et al, (2022) research on Ankara shows, insufficient protection of natural resources has contributed to the decline of forests, grassland, and agricultural areas. The results of Aliefendioğlu et al, (2022) and the results of our study for Istanbul highlight the significant impact of conservation on reducing LD and anthropogenic pressure.…”