Spatial effects of urban rail systems: Izmir metro case

Increasing population and urbanization, especially in big cities, has increased the need and demand for transportation, which has led to an increase in public transportation investments. Since the 1970s, both in Turkey and the world have experienced a significant increase in investment in urban rail systems. The main purpose of this study is to examine the spatial changes occurring around the Izmir Metro line, which was put into service in 2000, and to examine the place of planning practice in this change and development. The method to be followed in this context is to examine the relationship between the demographic and environmental impacts created by the Izmir Metro line with the construction of the metro line, and to analyze the relationship between the metro line construction and the plan amendments by examining the changes in the 1000 meters of the metro line by the relevant institutions. As a result of the research and analysis studies carried out, no significant spatial change was found around the Izmir Metro line, apart from the Kazımdirik neighborhood, and the plan amendments continued through individual requests, and it was determined that no extensive changes were made. However, a statistically significant 0.10 level was found between the accessibility of the neighborhoods to the metro stations and the number of amendments. In order to make the spatial effects meaningful, integration and coordinated work of planning and transportation practices are extremely important. In this context, the fact that the transportation investments made in the cities can make the transformations in the urban space more meaningful, achievable and plannable, shows that it is directly related to the level of its relationship with the planning practice. This is regarded as the contribution of this study to the science.