Spatial decision support system for site selection of investments of prominent sectors: The case of East Marmara

Along with the factors effecting directly the competitiveness such as the level of capital accumulation, qualified and cheap labor force, market opportunities and the development level of the supporting sectors, the geospatial location and spatial distribution of the firms are another factors which effect competitiveness. Due to the developing economic structure and increasing urbanism, the land, also, has become a scarce source which must be used efficiently. Thus, the question of "for what purpose should the land be used?" is now a strategic decision and it has to be emphasized importantly for the maximum social, economic and environmental benefit at the regional scale. Furthermore, globally adopted "Smart Specialization" concept is used for defining sectoral roles to the regions. The NUTS 2 Region of East Marmara was chosen as the case study because of being the most specific region that encounters the land scarcity and the heterogeneity of capital and labor market. The purpose of the study is to find answer for such a hard question like "how a city and a region benefits the most in terms of sectoral site selection of a specific zone?" For that purpose, the zones which are defined as industrial zone will be examined by considering the requirements and site selection criteria of the 8 most competitive sectors of the region. Finally with the help of the Geographical Information System, spatial analyses will be applied for the optimization of investments for the competitive sectors at regional scale of East Marmara and all of these will be performed by the newly suggested "Smart Spatialization" approach within the context of "Smart Specialization".