The examination of the impact of urbanisation on agricultural areas according to legal and administrative aspects: The sample of Denizli

Cities are human-dominated ecosystems and important components of land transformation. Today, while urbanisation is considered to be a global issue since it causes land transformations at serious levels all over the world, it also constitutes a local problem because of its effects on the regional landscape. The urbanisation in Turkey has been increasing since the 1950s because of economical, technological, political and psycho-sociological factors. The increasing urban sprawl and growth caused by attractive or unattractive and transmitting powers of these factors and changing population movements in cities brings about misuse of areas with its pressure on rural areas in the vicinity of cities. The effects such as boundary displacement as a result of political impacts, intricacy in authorisation or planning issues brought along urban pressure on rural areas around the city centre. This pressure led to the transformation of rural population into urban population. The growing urban population results in an uncontrolled urban sprawl and growth especially in unplanned cities. This study was carried out within the boundaries of Pamukkale and Merkezefendi, either of which are central districts of the city of Denizli, a metropolitan municipality since 2012. The land use for the years 1987, 2001 and 2013 was pointed out and the changes through these periods were determined. The spatial and temporal analyses of the variables causing urban sprawl and growth in Denizli were made. The urbanisation was examined according to legal and administrative aspects and its impact on agricultural areas was also revealed.