KURT, Sümeyra Fatih Üniversitesi - Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi - Coğrafya Bölümü, Turkey , DEMİRCİ, Ali Fatih Üniversitesi - Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi - Coğrafya Bölümü, Turkey , KARABURUN, Ahmet Fatih Üniversitesi - Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi - Coğrafya Bölümü, Turkey

Coastal Land Use Changes in Istanbul between 1987 and 2007

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Istanbul has experienced significant land use changes in the coastal regions over the last few decades owing to a rapid increase in population and urban growth. The aim of this study is to provide land use changes in the coastal region of Istanbul between 1985 and 2007. Supervised classification method was applied to Landsat images acquired in 1987 and 2007 with 30 m resolution using Erdas Imagine 9.1. The coastal region extending one kilometer inland from the coastline was classified into six land use classes comprising urban areas, agricultural areas, forest, bare soil, brush/grassland, and lake/pond. The study provided a comprehensive analysis of the land use changes in the study area between 1987 and 2007. As the study revealed, agricultural and forest areas decreased 31% and 35% respectively while urban areas expanded 35% in Istanbul within the 20 years time period. Most of the change in coastal land use was observed along the Marmara Sea and Bosporus in the study area. As population continues to grow, the coastal regions of Istanbul is most likely to continue experiencing more pressure from urbanization in the future. A sustainable coastal management plan should be prepared and put in action in order to preserve the coastal regions of Istanbul.

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Coastal land use , land use change , Remote Sensing , İstanbul

eastern geographical review

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