Edirne's urban development process: Spatial analysis

In this study, the city of Edirne, home to many civilizations (Roman-Byzantine-Ottoman), covering an area of 88 km² in the Eugene Department (Thrace) of the Marmara Region; physical geography, history, spatial development, urban function characteristics, causes, and consequences. Particularly with the participation of the city to the Ottoman Empire, the city structure was reshaped with social and economic changes. After being the capital of the Ottoman Empire, the city underwent huge spatial changes and exhibited a different stage of development after the proclamation of the Republic. The city, which became the city granary of Istanbul in the late the 19th century, is still an agricultural city. The population, which was 34,528 in the first years of the Republic, reached 167, 443 as of 2018 in Edirne, which has a long history. The city population, which increased with industrialization, started to decline after 1976. The main sources of livelihood of our research area are; agriculture, services, and industry. The city also has a trade and tourism sector. The development of trade in the city has a major impact on the major motorways as the TEM motorway and D-100 state highway. There are also many kinds of tourism activities such as historical, religious, nature, festivals, and fairgrounds that effective in the development of the city. The aim of this study is to reveal the spatial development process of the city of Edirne, to determine the factors that affect the city for the more planned growth of the city and to offer solutions to convert the physical and human elements it has into advantages.