Examination of urban macroform development with urban planning processes, remote sensing and geographical information systems-a case study of central districts of Antalya province

Cities are holistic entities comprised of both the natural environment and the artificial environment created by humans. The development of this structure, which is in a constant state of change and transformation, depends on the outcomes of alterations in the components of the natural environment and the human-made structure. In recent years, the rapid growth of urban populations has led to the uncontrolled and hasty expansion of urban spatial structures. Consequently, minimizing the potential negative impacts on various aspects such as spatial, social, sectoral structures, the natural environment, and transportation through regional and urban plans developed by urban planners and decision-makers is of vital importance for cities. The examination of urban macroform development, which provides critical information about the temporal and spatial growth and physical structure of cities, as well as the monitoring of its continuity in accordance with new plans, can be effectively achieved through Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems. In the study, macroform determinations of urban areas were made using the land use/land cover data obtained by classifying the data sets obtained from the plans and aerial photographs obtained for the years 1920, 1953, 1963, 1975 covering the central districts of Antalya Province (Aksu, Döşemealtı, Kepez, Konyaaltı and Muratpaşa districts) and Landsat satellite images of the years 1986, 1996, 2015, 2020 and ASTER satellite images of the year 2005 using the Random Forest Algorithm. The urban macroform boundaries determined in the specified years between 1920-2020 were superimposed with each other, land use/land cover maps were analyzed to reveal the temporal changes of the use classes, landscape metrics were calculated to understand the spatial pattern of urban patches, the interactions between the patches and the rest of the landscape, and their changes over time, urban growth typology maps were created to understand the structure of urban growth patterns, and within the scope of these analyzes, the macroform development of the Central Districts of Antalya Province was examined in detail. The determined urban macroform boundaries were superimposed with the 1/25000 Scale Urban Zoning Plans approved between 1977-2022 covering the study area, and the effects of the plans on the urban macroform boundary development during the periods when they were effective were revealed. The study aims to guide the future development scenarios of the city.