Analysis of Land Ownership and Mobility in Sprawl Areas of Big Cities: The Case of Ankara Province

Abstract

Urban development, growth, sprawl, expansion and fringe issues have gained special importance both in spatial planning and infrastructure investments and in the analysis of real estate markets. Approaches based on Geographic Information Systems and fractal analysis are often used in the analysis of urban growth and spatial change, and the states of compact (concentrated) or fringed (spread) are measured as an indicator of urban space use efficiency. Fractal analysis, based on fractal geometry, contributes to the quantitative study of the morphology of objects. In this sense, by determining fractal dimension and lacunarity index the change in space over time and especially by analysing the change in land use and land cover, the structure of spatial organization, urban growth and development of the built environment can be analysed. Although many research has been conducted on the analysis of urban development processes and analysis of urban morphology, it has been found that there are no studies on spatial pattern in Ankara by using fractal analysis. This paper will contribute to the questioning of urban spatial dynamics and to the assessment of its possible effects on real estate market and location choice of landowners. In addition, in the process of historical development in the city, it is necessary to determine the orientation of urban sprawl, real estate investments and, in particular, the land ownership change or the evaluation of speculative trends depending on the mobility of zoning in the immediate vicinity of the city. The determination of the time between the acquisition of land in the city and the date of sale and the determination of the main factors that affect the relocation of people in the city between places were evaluated according to the results of the survey applied to owners, real estate market intermediaries and other stakeholders. When the observations and research results conducted in the studied settlements are put together, it was determined that there were similarities between the fractal dimension values and the physical structure specificities of the space. The values obtained as a result of computation through software show that urban spaces containing elements that contribute to urban life have fractal dimensions at different scales. In addition to the distribution analysis depending on the spatial planning process in the districts and neighbourhoods selected from the city of Ankara, the transfer of hands of land and the time of possession were also examined during the planning process. By analysing Land Registry records, zoning plans and survey data together, the existence of speculation in land markets in selected settlements was examined on the basis of mobility in land markets during planning periods. In the study, urban sprawl, change in land use and mobility analysis of landowners (mobility) were discussed according to the results of the general situation analysis and fieldwork conducted in selected neighbourhoods. It has been observed that there is a strong relationships between spatial planning studies and infrastructure investments and urban sprawl in the selected neighbourhoods of the city, and the characteristics of areas that landowners prefer to the results of planning studies. Based on the outcomes related to the development of spaces in cities it has been shown that planning carried out with future predictions can significantly contribute to the sustainability.