An analysis of the transformation of the green infrastructure system in the last 50 years of Antalya's urban planning process

With the process of industrialization, global changes in production patterns, consumption habits, rapid population growth, technological innovations, and developments in the transportation and construction sectors have significantly accelerated urban growth. Especially since the second half of the twentieth century, urban population growth has reached approximately 60%, and it is projected to rise to 70% in the near future. This rapid expansion has led to the spread of cities toward their peripheries and the transformation of open urban spaces into built environments. Uncontrolled and unplanned development has resulted in the degradation of natural and ecological resources both within and around cities. In this context, the green infrastructure system has emerged in recent years as a key strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of unbalanced urban growth and to foster the development of more resilient cities. When the components of green infrastructure are planned in an integrated manner across the urban fabric, they can prevent the destruction of ecological areas, regulate transitions between rural and urban zones, contribute to controlled urban expansion, and positively shape the city's macro form. Within this general framework, this study selects the city of Antalya as a case study to examine the relationship between changes in land use and the green infrastructure system based on its urban growth patterns from past to present. The objective is to develop a set of spatial development strategies for future planning. Furthermore, the study seeks to assess how green infrastructure systems have evolved over time, identify existing components, and propose strategies for their future planning in order to control urban growth and reduce the negative impacts of unplanned development. In other words, the study emphasizes the importance of connecting areal, nodal, and linear green infrastructure components across the city to create integrated natural systems. This integration is crucial for maintaining ecological balance and offsetting the functional losses caused by fragmented urban development. Green infrastructure components consist of hubs, sites, and linkages. Hubs, with areal characteristics, represent large habitat zones that serve as starting and ending points for wildlife movement and ecological processes, connecting various green networks. Sites, characterized by their nodal nature, are smaller green areas that, despite lacking large-scale connectivity, contribute to ecological and social value. Linkages, which are linear spatial elements, are essential for maintaining wildlife continuity, preserving iv historical areas, and providing recreational opportunities. The study consists of three main phases. In the first phase, changes in land use in Antalya are analyzed using Corine data and zoning plans to identify the negative effects of uncontrolled and unplanned urban growth and the transformation of green spaces. In the second phase, forests, regional parks, conservation areas, urban pocket parks, streams, flood zones, and ecological corridors are examined as green infrastructure components under the categories of hubs, sites, and linkages. In the final phase, the generated maps are used to evaluate the interrelations between urban growth and the green infrastructure system in Antalya from a planning perspective. Within this framework, detailed temporal analyses based on the data used in the study regarding urban growth and green infrastructure systems reveal that planning and land-use decisions made over the past 50 years have significantly influenced the macroform of the city of Antalya, as well as its areal, nodal, and linear ecological spaces and regions. Furthermore, by identifying the relationship between green infrastructure and urban growth in Antalya, the study proposes a data set consisting of suggested green infrastructure components and planning strategies aimed at sustaining the existing green infrastructure system and enhancing the city's resilience against future urban expansion. KEYWORDS: Land Use, Urban Growth, Sustainability, Green Infrastructure Systems