Protection of green areas within the scope of cultural heritage and the use of smart city approach in time-dependent change (the case of Bursa city centre)

Anything that is transferred from past generations to the present day, has aesthetic and visual textures, is universally accepted, reflects the ethnicity of a society that contains abstract and concrete concepts, and is intended to be preserved and transferred to future generations is called 'cultural heritage'. As in Bursa, today's urbanism continues to develop around the settlement areas of ancient civilisations, which are generally accepted as cultural heritage. Today, the rapid increase in population density in cities has increased migration to cities from villages, small cities and other countries due to health, education, transport, job opportunities and wars in big cities. As a result, rapid urbanisation has occurred in our country and the world. Due to rapid urbanisation, the destruction of green areas and the increase in impermeable areas with the spread of artificial structures are visible. This situation has increased air pollution in city centres and caused events such as floods and floods. These conditions have made it mandatory to plan smart cities with sustainable green areas. Today's cities face the complex environmental challenges of the Anthropocene era, such as climate change and rapidly increasing population. This situation makes it imperative to develop sustainable management strategies in urban ecosystems. In this context, smart urbanisation approaches offer opportunities to improve the environmental performance of cities and improve the quality of life by combining digital technologies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Basic ecological processes such as air quality, hydrological regimes and biodiversity, especially in urban areas, are undergoing significant transformations under the pressure of uncontrolled urbanisation and climate change. Powerful analytical tools using spatial data are needed to understand these changes correctly and manage them effectively. Urban land cover, particularly tree cover, is recognised to play a critical role in mitigating the impacts of climate change and improving the urban environment. Trees provide numerous ecosystem services such as removal of air pollutants, carbon storage, stormwater management and reduction of the heat island effect. Measurably identifying and spatially disaggregating these benefits enables more informed and data-driven decisions to be made in the context of smart urbanism. This is where GIS-based tools such as i-Tree Canopy are invaluable. i-Tree Canopy is a software that is used to quickly and effectively estimate the percentage distribution of different land cover classes such as water surfaces, buildings, tree cover, roads, etc. and provides convenience to the user. This software performs land cover analyses through manual classification of randomly selected points on satellite images or aerial photographs. In this way, reliable statistical data can be obtained on the state of green infrastructure in a given urban area or catchment. In the light of this analysed information, it provides a scientific basis for urban planners and managers in many areas such as evaluating overall environmental performance, developing urban forestry strategies, and creating water management plans. In cities like Bursa, where dense urbanisation is taking place and there is pressure on natural resources, i-Tree Canopy can be used. i-Tree Canopy analyses, integrated with GIS, allow spatial mapping of the obtained percentage data and their evaluation together with other urban data (population density, infrastructure data, spatial distribution of pollutants, etc.). This integration is indispensable for smart city applications, as multilayer spatial analyses are required to understand and optimise the complex interactions of urban systems. i-Tree Canopy can identify areas with low tree cover density and high air pollution exposure as priority areas for urban greening projects. Similarly, critical catchments where tree cover needs to be increased to manage stormwater runoff in urban areas can be identified through such integrated analyses. In summary, smart urbanism approaches rely on comprehensive data analysis to improve the environmental sustainability and resilience of cities. For large cities such as Bursa, sensitive land cover data obtained through i-Tree Canopy can be analysed in GIS platforms to quantitatively assess urban forest ecosystem services and thus contribute significantly to achieving objectives such as air quality improvement, carbon management and optimisation of hydrological processes. Such integrated approaches are key to making cities more prepared and livable for future environmental challenges.