Research on New Residential Areas Using GIS - a case study

Planning is a decision-making process which is about'the future'. In each scale of planning process, spatial rules of the social life are formed. In this process, firstly series of spatial analyses should be practised. Throughout the world, spatial planning strategies which focus on the sustainable development adapt an ecological approach and both the regional and urban planning processes are based upon ecological bases. Under the guidance of this notion, also in Turkey, spatial planning strategies should be urgently reviewed and any level of planning process should be directed to ecological bases. Furthermore, in all these steps, natural resources and ecological characteristics should be taken into consideration. In the city of Bartin, where Bartin River flows through, a case study has been carried out regarding the above mentioned planning strategies. The case study has three stages. These stages also frame the data, analysis and evaluation stages. In the case study, a combination of McHarg's ecological evaluation method and Kiemstedt's usage value analysis in planning has been employed. With the help of ecological analyses, in the rural areas that have not been settled yet, the potential of the natural resources has been examined for the new residential areas. As a result, in the city of Bartin, the potential residential areas have been defined on the unsettled regions. What is more, concerning the subject, a map has been formed on the scale of 1/25 000. As a result of the case study, it has been concluded that in Bartin city because of the physical planning which ignores the potential of the natural resources, some of the existing residential areas have been chosen improperly