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As a case study about İzmir (the third biggest metropolitan city in Turkey), this paper focuses on how to determine bicycle routes in already developed built environments of densely populated cities. To do so, it identifies how to deploy certain geographic information system (GIS) tools for analyzing multilayered spatial data not only at the city but also at the neighborhood level. When interrelating multiple characteristics of majorly topography, land use and population with each other, the study deploys mainly the overlay analysis and also network analysis as complementary to each other respectively at the city level and the neighborhood level. The results confirms that the use of these GIS tools for analyzing socio-spatial data especially at multiple spatial scales can support policy-makers' decision-makings about route choices in the immediate future of their city even in a "data-poor" context," such as Turkey.

The fringe belt concept that has been handled morphologically by urban geographers since the 1960s has recently gained increasing attention in the urban planning and design spheres. Fringe belts are the former urban peripheries that are embedded within the city in the historical process. Fringe belts continue to contain the peripheral land uses that are important for urban ecology and sustainable urban development. The fringe belt concept is crucial in order to grasp the morphological growth of the city by understanding the location, function and the significance of the fringe belts to see the effects of different planning approaches on these areas. Fringe belts often feature as urban heritages and ecological corridors and they create a buffer zone that protects natural areas against the negative effects of the city. In addition, they reduce the urban heat island effect by their frequent use of open and green areas. Yet, due to the rapid urbanization and the search for the empty lands, fringe belts are embedded within the city center and its surroundings are exposed to alienation. Fringe belt alienation should be seen as one of the basic problems of the urban development. This study focuses on the military areas that form a part of the fringe belts in İzmir and are predicted to be extramuralized in the near future. As a response to the extramuralization risk, this study evaluates the effects and potential of military areas, which form a part of fringe belts in İzmir, as open green areas on urban ecology and on public interest and this study suggests urban fringe belt planning against the possible alienation risks.