Impact of rapid urbanization on the morphology of historical Istanbul: Üsküdar district case study

Istanbul, one of the world's leading metropolises, with over 14 million inhabitants, has seen rapid population growth and rapid, unplanned urbanization over the past 100 years. In addition to these changes the city has also seen sudden developments in urban construction infrastructure and built areas since the 1950's. With technological advancement in building construction and the obvious need to reconstruct and replace many of the existing building stocks due to expected earthquake cycle, the city is in yet another phase of rapid change. It is important to understand the changes in the urban environment and how they affect the lived environment of the city. In this study, GIS and remote sensing methods are used to explore changes that have taken place, using the neighborhood of Üsküdar as an example. This study provides examples of how urban planners can understand the existing environment to help future planning in Istanbul neighborhoods, especially in terms of expanding green-space.