Determination of the urbanization and changes in open-green spaces in Nevsehir city through remote sensing.

Abstract

The physical texture of cities is comprised of built-up spaces, open-green spaces, and transportation arteries. Urbanization is a dynamic that compose of each of the factors above in a fair proportion to human beings and nature. On the other hand, due to the rapid increase in urban population, urbanization has become a concept that poses serious problems for cities in the last decades and this leads a pressure on open-green spaces in urban areas. Open-green spaces have a great importance in improving urban life conditions and balancing the destroyed relations between humans and environment. For this reason, the sustainability of urban open-green spaces cannot be ignored in the planning studies. In this study, the change in the urban texture in Nevsehir (Turkey) was evaluated in a 10-year period (2004-2014) through the integration of remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS). Through the use of satellite images with high ground sample distance-QuickBird (60 cm) (2004) and Worlview-2 (50 cm) (2014)-the direction of urban expansion and changes which occurred in urban open-green spaces and urban development areas were examined in detail at the whole city and district scales. Analyses consist of satellite image classification, plant index production, and GIS-based analyses methods. According to the results, it was determined that from 2004 to 2014, the 23.28% decrease in urban open-green spaces was detected in Nevsehir city. It was observed that the city expands towards the north-east, south-west, and west. It was indicated that there is a serious increase in built-up areas especially at the north-east part of the city (107.11%). Thus, a significant decrease has happened in the amount of urban open-green spaces in this area.