Geological infrastructure and environmental quality in housing zones of Çanakkale

Most of the cities in Turkey face the treat of natural disasters. The fact that geological data cannot adequately be used in city planning has a negative effect on healthy development of cities. Conducting physical restorations in currently built-up areas, improving urban infrastructure and environmental quality as well as establishing a sound infrastructure and choosing the right location bear importance for the cities to be prepared for natural disasters. Disorganized and dense housing on areas where the geological infrastructure is not convenient for settlement increases the risk of natural disaster. The city of Canakkale, which was selected as the work area is located on first-degree seismic zone, on Sarıcay alluvium area. This thesis is aimed at analysis of geological infrastructure and environmental quality of housing zones of Canakkale and detection of the housing zones which are problematic in terms of both geological infrastructure and environmental quality. These areas can also be defined as areas that need to be improved and developed primarily in the city.Geological features of Canakkale were evaluated through literature research and field work and 1/25 000 scale geology map of the city of Canakkale was prepared. Some indicators were selected in order to be able to define the environmental quality in housing areas of Canakkale. Environmental quality was assessed through evaluation of parameters such as housing density, housing organization and having urban infrastructure. Satellite images of 2008 and the Master Plan of Çanakkale Municipality on 1/5000 scale were utilized in spatial analyses. Furthermore, data was obtained from such institutions as TEDAS (Turkish Electricity Distribution Corporation), Canakkale Municipality, Canakkale Gaz and Türk Telekom, which are responsible for developing the urban infrastructure. All analyses were conducted with the help of GIS and maps were superposed in ArcGIS program.At the end of the work, housing zones of Canakkale were defined in four categories as: ?areas with problematic geological infrastructure and low environmental quality?, ?areas with problematic geological infrastructure and developing environmental quality?, ?area with problematic infrastructure and high environmental quality?, ?areas with good geological infrastructure and high environmental quality?.