Sustainable Land Use

Sustainable Land Use is an approach that aims to protect land, plan its use, and implement land use according to these plans. This concept is part of the principle of “sustainable development,” which seeks to meet today’s needs and expectations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own requirements. Sustainable land use offers a multidimensional framework that encompasses not only the efficient use of agricultural land but also the intensive and effective use of urban areas, public participation in the process, preservation of economic balances, and the redevelopment of built-up areas.

Definition and Scope

Sustainable land use seeks to protect land by preventing the loss of its natural or artificial characteristics and ensuring its planned use in accordance with the principle of environment-prioritized sustainable development. This approach encompasses processes such as the scientific identification, classification of land and soil resources, and the preparation of land use plans. At its core lies the aim of achieving a balance among three main components: economic development, social well-being, and environmental integrity.

This concept has emerged from the necessity to prevent land and soil losses caused by increasing population pressures and unplanned or erroneous land use. The fundamental basis of this approach is the rational management of land, a scarce natural resource whose quantity cannot be increased, to ensure that future generations can meet their food and healthy living needs.

Historical Development and Theoretical Approaches

The origins of the concept of sustainable land use are rooted in the growing awareness of environmental issues in the 1970s.

1970s and 1980s

The concept of “sustainable development” entered international literature with the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972. During this period, discussions focused primarily on environmental problems caused by industrial pollution. In the 1980s, the concept of “complex adaptive systems” gained prominence, with debates centering on how systems adapt to changing conditions.

1990s and Beyond

At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, sustainable development was adopted as a common goal for humanity in the 21st century. This summit envisioned a land management approach based on principles such as meeting basic needs, improving living standards, and protecting ecosystems. During this period, the concept of sustainability expanded to include socio-economic dimensions and planning.

From Sustainability to Resilience

In recent years, particularly in urban planning literature, the concept of “resilience” has gained prominence. While sustainability aims to prevent pressures such as climate change and economic crises, resilience focuses on adapting to new conditions and coping with change. This new approach considers not only the maintenance of the current state of a system but also its capacity to reorganize and continue functioning in response to external factors and shocks.

The fundamental components of sustainable urban land use are as follows:

• Efficient Land Use: This principle includes preventing urban sprawl and leapfrog development, redeveloping abandoned industrial areas (“brownfields”), and promoting compact urban forms.

• Property Structure and Real Estate Market: This dimension emphasizes the social responsibilities of land and real estate markets. Investors and developers are expected to undertake social obligations such as producing housing for low-income groups, providing health services, and generating local employment.

• Equitable Society and Sustainable Social Structure: This principle aims to balance economic competitiveness with social integration. Land use policies are recognized as directly influencing social equity or inequality by determining the spatial positioning of social groups within the city.

Legal and Social Regulations in Türkiye

The primary legal framework regulating sustainable land use in Türkiye is Law No. 5403 on Soil Conservation and Land Use, which came into effect on 3 July 2005.

Law No. 5403

The purpose of this law is to protect land by preventing its loss or degradation through natural or artificial means and to ensure planned land use in accordance with the principle of environment-prioritized sustainable development. Article 10 of the law mandates that land use plans be prepared based on water potential, soil databases, and maps, and prohibits the use of agricultural land for purposes other than those specified in the plans.

Challenges in Implementation

Some challenges exist in implementing the law. Detailed soil databases and maps, which are essential as foundational materials for planning, have not yet been fully prepared nationwide. Current 1:100,000 scale maps are considered inadequate for detailed planning purposes.

Desertification Control Program

As a country affected by desertification and drought, Türkiye ratified the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in 1998. The “Türkiye National Action Plan to Combat Desertification,” developed under this framework, has adopted the principle of sustainable land management. The program aims to prevent erroneous land use and protect natural areas.

Application Areas and Methods

Sustainable land use has a broad range of applications, from the protection of agricultural areas to urban planning. Modern technologies enable the effective implementation of these plans.

Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

These technologies allow for the rapid and high-accuracy production of foundational materials for land use planning. Using satellite data and other geographic information, agricultural resources, land cover types, soil properties, and existing land use patterns are identified, and digital databases are created. In a study conducted in the Antalya-Altınova region, RS and GIS technologies were used to classify lands at series and phase levels, establish land capability classes, and develop a sustainable land management plan for the region. This plan categorized the area into use groups such as “Organized Greenhouse Farming Areas,” “Urban Settlement Areas,” and “Non-Residential Built-Up Areas.”

Examples of Erroneous Land Use

Ignoring the principles of sustainable land use leads to significant problems.

Airports

In Türkiye, 32 out of 55 operational airports, approximately 60 percent, have been built directly on agricultural land. This situation results not only in the loss of the area occupied by the airport but also threatens surrounding lands with conversion to non-agricultural uses. Over time, residential areas have expanded toward airports, encircling them, which has led to the disappearance of agricultural land and restricted the future expansion potential of the airports. The confinement of Istanbul Atatürk Airport by surrounding urban development is an example of this phenomenon.

Urban Sprawl and Intensification

In large metropolises such as Istanbul, global economic pressures and rapid population growth have led to both “urban sprawl” at the city fringes and “market-driven intensification” in city centers. For instance, large-scale housing projects like Bahçeşehir have caused the loss of agricultural and forest land on the urban periphery while promoting a car-dependent lifestyle that increases environmental pressures. Simultaneously, the emergence of new business centers such as Büyükdere-Maslak has generated problems such as heavy traffic and air pollution while transforming the social fabric of the region.