Codes of post-disaster spatial planning worldwide and in Turkey: A comparative analysis of policy, management, and implementation approaches

The central objective of this thesis is to analyse how post-disaster spatial planning is shaped at the institutional, managerial, and implementation levels, and to evaluate Turkey's current approach by comparing it with examples from other countries. In Turkey, the substantial losses and the necessity for expeditious responses that materialised in the aftermath of the earthquakes of 6 February 2023 have exposed fundamental deficiencies in the reconstruction processes. In particular, the shortcomings in institutional coordination and decision-making mechanisms have necessitated a review of the planning system. Consequently, this study posits that post-disaster planning cannot be considered as a mere repair of the physical environment; rather, it must be addressed in conjunction with governance, participation, institutional capacity, and risk reduction policies. The present thesis is based on the assumption that a dataset containing laws, strategy documents, and institutional reports guiding post-disaster planning in Turkey, the US, Germany, Japan, and Chile can be analysed using document analysis and text mining techniques. The analysis process was structured in three stages. In the initial phase, a systematic evaluation of legislation and policy documents was conducted to ensure the integrity of the data. In the second stage of the research, conceptual densities and prominent themes in the documents were identified and visualized through text mining using Voyant Tools. In conclusion, conceptual densities and prominent themes were grouped by country. Thematic analyses revealed the position of each country in relation to spatial planning within the disaster cycle, as well as the administrative principles that were prioritised. The ensuing analyses yielded the following findings: in Turkey, the reconstruction process is characterised by increased centralisation and accelerated implementation; in the US, the governance structure is multi-tiered, with financial support mechanisms in place; in Germany, institutional cooperation and planning hierarchy are key features; in Japan, community-based risk reduction practices are prevalent; and in Chile, the approach is adaptive, informed by continuous disaster experience. Despite the robust legal framework in place in Turkey, the study also underscores several salient observations, including the dearth of local capacity in practice, lacunae in data management, and an underdeveloped culture of long-term planning. The present thesis examines post-disaster spatial planning approaches in different countries, proceeds from the main question of how the post-disaster spatial planning system in Turkey can be optimised, and concludes that participatory governance mechanisms should be widespread, the competence of local administrations should be increased, data-based decision-making processes should be institutionalised, and reconstruction steps should be integrated with risk-reducing spatial planning principles.