The invisible morphology of the loss : convergence of urban forms and divergence of ecology

Küçük Çalışkan, Ezgi and Sivrikaya, Özge and Argın, Görsev and Kurtuluş, İrem; (2022) The invisible morphology of the loss : convergence of urban forms and divergence of ecology. In: Annual Conference Proceedings of the XXVIII International Seminar on Urban Form. University of Strathclyde Publishing, Glasgow, pp. 719-727. ISBN 9781914241161

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Abstract

Streets are the fixation lines of the fringe belts, borders of the morphological regions, frameworks of urban design practices in the city, veins of the mobility and tools for accessibility in the cities. As the accessibility and connections between cities increase, changing land use patterns cause ecological fragmentation as well as morphological transformations. This situation is incompatible with the sustainable cities approach that is laid out especially within the SDG11. The aim of this study is to reveal the pattern of morphological and ecological fragmentations in Marmara Region, Turkey, following the traces of changing land use patterns. Connecting the cities around the Marmara Sea with transportation roads and bridges not only provides sustainability in transportation and logistics by increasing the connectivity and through-movement potential between cities and rural areas, but also causes the deterioration of urban and natural forms in the locations they pass through. In the study, the morphological loss caused by the transportation network connecting the cities of Marmara Region including Istanbul has been identified. The morphological changes in land use -especially forest areas, natural resources, and urban texture- created by the transportation lines passing through the cities are elaborated. Data obtained from satellite images, land use, tree cover and climate maps, transportation projects of the region were analyzed in terms of morphological regions, fringe belts and space syntax methodology. The results of the study indicate that the dilemma that policymakers and city planners need to solve, should be managed through working on targets and indicators in all SDGs, primarily SGD11. This paper also queries the instrumentalism of the morphology discipline to make visible and articulate the invisible morphology of the ecological loss that is more than a "fine" linear morphological trace.

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