The Issue of The Areas That are Removed Outside the Forest Boundaries From the Planning Perspective: Istanbul Case

Abstract

The issue of the areas that are removed outside the forest boundaries continue to become a chronic problem that threatens the cities, natural life spaces in the cities, and the ecosystems. Started to speed up after the 80's, in post-2000's, this process has transformed into a marketing policy of major construction firms, as removing areas outside the forest boundaries according to the demands and pressures of capitalist production relations, urban unearned incomes, and the capital that rapidly got stronger and opened up a life space for itself in the politics; and as approaching these areas as any other urban area. Eventually, this situation arose the need of an extensive discussion about the issue. One of the most important points of this discussion is the question of what kind of a planning approach must be developed for the areas that are removed outside the forest boundary. As much as it is a chronic and multi-dimensional conflict, it also deserves to be elaborated as a technical, economical, social, ethical and political issue. The transaction processes, problems of property rights, and distribution of the unearned incomes require a multi-dimensional and retrospective perspective on the issue. The purpose of this study is to elaborate the issue of construction processes conducted in the areas that are removed outside the boundaries of the forest areas, which are actually located in the top degrees amongst the public properties of our country. It aims to develop a planning approach for these construction processes, which become a chronical problem for both the planning and the legal aspects, over the Istanbul case by discussing the legal, political and economical backgrounds.