INVESTIGATION OF THE SOLID WASTE LANDFILL SITESELECTION USING THE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM IN THE CITY OF NİĞDE

Abstract

Nowadays, increasing population and consumption rate have led to the need for the removal of solid wastes from urban areas in a more economical, environmentally friendly, and controlled manner. The increasing growth of urban area along with the increasing population and the need to protect the natural structure of the rural area for the continuity of life have made the selection of suitable sites for the storage of solid wastes a quite important process. In urban areas, increasing population density and solid waste production rate, the diversity of land use, environmental and climatic changes, and the expectations of urban stakeholders (implementers, managers, and living stakeholders) regarding solid waste storage areas have turned the site selection of solid waste storage areas into a complex process. 
 The successful management of this complex and multi-actor process for solid wastes along with its economic, environmental and social aspects and the protection and development of urban and rural lives require a system. The Geographic Information System (GIS) and its applications are important tools in the management and monitoring of this complex process with its abilities to store graphical and non-graphical data, to analyze them by using together, to model and visualize them. 
 In this study, the solid waste landfill site located in the city center of Niğde province in Turkey was evaluated by the analyses performed using the GIS (land use, slope, visibility, spatial distances). The suitability of the solid waste landfill site for the changing land use in the strategic planning process of the city center of Niğde was discussed with the analyses.