مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - The Analysis of Habitability of Urban Spaces In Terms of Natural Environmental Components By Means of GIS and AHP: The Case of Antakya (Hatay)

Abstract :

Having grown rapidly throughout the world in recent years, cities have led to the emergence of many problems in the natural environment. It is necessary to perform appropriate space selection works in urban areas in order to solve such problems. In this regard, significant works are performed by means of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based techniques in particular. In the present study, the natural environmental components of Antakya, the central district of Hatay province, were analyzed in terms of habitability. Thematic maps were utilized in the present study (scale being 1/25.000). The ArcGIS/ArcMap 10.1 package GIS software was used at the analysis and the mapping stages of the present study. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), one of the multiplecriteria decision-making methods, was employed as the research method. It was found out that more than half of Antakya consisted of areas having a low level of habitability. The spaces inappropriate for habitation were the areas close by river valleys the Asi (Orontes) River being in the first place and fault lines. According to the research findings, although there are some risky spaces within borders of the municipal adjacent areas to which the district is likely to extend in the near future, the safest spaces are situated there. Ultimately, studies taking into account natural environmental components should be conducted in order to plan cities for sustainability. The use of methods based on GIS in these kinds of studies is quite important for producing sound and applicable results. Such methods may be preferred as they are applicable in similar fields, too.