Determination of the most suitable areas in terms of settlement for Elaziğ city and its surroundings

The excessive growth rate in cities has increased the demand for residential areas and surrounding lands. When there was not enough space for settlement in urban areas, settlements began to be established on sloping slopes, plains, forests, wetlands, valley floors and around fault lines. The shift of settlements to areas that are not suitable for settlement has brought along many problems related to the natural environment. The fertile agricultural lands have been filled with houses, the beds of the rivers have changed, the dams have come to the point of drying up. With the establishment of new settlements without considering the risk of natural disasters, the loss of life and property in disasters has increased. Appropriate site selection studies should be carried out to solve these and similar problems. In this study, it is aimed to analyze the city of Elâzığ in terms of suitability for settlement. Especially the great loss of life and property in the earthquake of 6.8 magnitude on January 24, 2020, made it necessary to examine the settlement situation of the city of Elazig and to analyze the areas to be opened for new settlements. In this context, the central district that suffered the most from the earthquake was chosen as the study area, and the suitability of the area for settlement was analyzed by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHS). As a result of the analyzes made, nine regions most suitable for settlement were determined within the boundaries of the study area. These regions were interpreted, the settlement type for the regions and the economic activities for the development of the region were suggested.