Transformation of rural lands into urban landsexample of İstanbul and Kartal

Humankind has used the land, on which he depends, to ensure the most beneficial result for himself since he has existed. The first service land provided the humankind has been its capacity to enable agriculture. In the transition from community to society, the purpose of the use of land started to change direction and a notion of ownership, which can be addressed as land possession, emerged. The organizing of the societies to establish states, the ways states were organized and the socio-economics of the people who lived within those states created different kinds of use of land. The personal property and community property principles adopted by the states ultimately aim to provide the healthiest environment possible for the "human", but they want to achieve this goal in different ways. In this study, it is desired to present the relationship between human and land from the first time humankind met with the land to today. The fact that the topic has very wide variety of dimensions, necessitated to concentrate on a specific subject under the title of human-land relationship; and therefore, the main focus of the study has been decided to be on the human-land relationships during the Republic period in Turkey. The first chapter consists of definitions of rural and urban lands. In the second chapter, the use of land in the history of the country is briefly mentioned to see what kind of use of land policies resulted into the Republic period. As the order of use of land in the history has been the discussion matter for many times, it is only briefly mentioned in this study. The studies reveal that the fate of states is determined by meticulous handling of the issue of land and the policies followed hereof. The connection between the fall of Ottoman Empire and the aforementioned issue is highly clear. When the land and soil policies in the Republic period, which constitute a large part of the second chapter, are examined, we felt the need to return to the pre-Republican period in some parts. In this chapter, laws that have been repealed and that are still in effect are mentioned. Local governments have a different position since they are implementing the laws on use of land and planning. The situation of the local governments, which should be politically, economically and technically powerful, is examined under the second and third chapters. In the third chapter, the results of the implementation of the use of land policy examined under the second chapter are tried to be stated. The areas where the developing cities were settled and the problems emerged are discussed under the title of meeting the need of urban land. With this purpose, the relevant part starts with the general statement of the structural transformation in Turkey. How effective was the land policy of the state in this transformation? What kind of measures were brought to the problems it caused and was the result successful? In the third chapter, the city of Istanbul and the district of Kartal are examined in greater detail to find answers to the questions above. Among the developing metropolises of the country, Istanbul has got the greatest share within the territory of Turkey. The city of Istanbul where the local government phenomenon first emerged and wanted to be applied, which receives immigrants the most in the country, needs land at the same rate and has problems is examined with the different practices it experienced and its growing settlement area. This examination shows that the study of Kartal District having a very old settlement history and a special location in the city of Istanbul will be more helpful in determining why the settlements are expanding. The district of Kartal, which had also existed long before the Republic in terms of settlement, was a self-sufficient, small city affecting its immediate surroundings and a semi-suburb of the city of Istanbul during the years following the declaration of the Republic. Eventually, with the construction of Ankara Motorway (1957) and restrictions of industrial settlements within Istanbul pushed industrial enterprises towards the Ankara Motorway, especially to the north of the motorway. Industrial enterprises created the phenomenon of accommodation of the labour force brought together, so the immediate surroundings of the industries were filled with residential buildings in a very short time, and the formation of municipality and laws passed have always been behind these unplanned settlements. The amount of settlements developed in this unplanned area in the district of Kartal will be given based on the censuses conducted in 1963 and 1983. The purpose of this study was to figure out whether an environment suitable for human dignity could be provided that was aimed to be provided to the human beings through "the land policies" followed. From the beginning to the end of the studies, the issue was tried to be clarified by taking the problems, causes and results into consideration.