Environmental, Social and Economic Factors of Development Axes in terms of Spatial Planning: An Analysis of Thrace Region in Turkey

Abstract

In the globalized world, the importance of the environmental factors for development is frequently emphasized and not only developed countries but also the developing ones accept environment as vital dimension under the impact of the globalization. Nowadays, there are fundamental changes in the cities which are rapidly growing and experiencing difficulties in development objectives. New policies emerged from cities for a better development path. The spatial planning can be a tool for improving the cooperation between the cities and the regions. However, the developments plans and programmes in Turkey like in many developing countries are usually applied to increase the employment opportunities and generally focused on industrialisation by ignoring environmental aspects. Therefore, the aim of the study by examining Thrace Region in Turkey is to bring about a spatial planning process with wider aspects by analysing the advantages and alternatives of the new development axes. As a result, the interactions of the cities, the sectoral leading cities, the functions of the cities, and the benefits of Istanbul have appeared dominant variables of the spatial planning in the development of Thrace Region.