Re-Interpreting the Imrahor Valley (Ankara-Turkey) in Terms of Green Infrastructure Directing Urban and Rural Development

Abstract

The earth is rapidly urbanizing. One of the most effective means of dealing with the emergency caused by rapid urbanization is green infrastructure now. Ankara as a metropolitan capital city is also rapidly losing its urban-rural integrity due to rapid urbanization. Although different spatial plans have been made since the declaration of the Republic, the city continued oil-stain expansion and the green area system could not be protected. The Imrahor Valley, which is of ecologically vital importance in the urban-rural integrity, is one of the valuable areas under threat. The valley is an ecotone between the rural and urban ecosystems, southeast of Ankara city center. The valley has come to the point of losing its natural and rural character, especially with the urban transformation practices on the valley floor, slopes and surrounding areas. In this context, the ecological processes to which the Imrahor Valley is connected and dependent and human interventions in these processes are examined in three layers at different levels initially: the province, the city containing the central districts and the basin containing Lake Mogan-Eymir Lake-Imrahor Valley. Then, we focus on the transformation of the Imrahor Valley, one of the most important ecological components of the metropolitan city of Ankara, between 2003–2020. All transformational interventions in the Imrahor Valley affect all natural processes of the Valley irreversibly. It is necessary to re-read and interpret the Imrahor Valley landscape within the framework of the green infrastructure approach in all spatial planning studies and plan changes to be made regarding the metropolitan city.

Planning and designing green infrastructure across landscapes and scales

“…Green infrastructure can be recognised as an integral component of the fourth nature concept (Čibik et al, 2020), as well as a strategic tool for climate change mitigation in urban environments (Tóth, Halajová & Halaj, 2015), and rural landscapes (Tóth & Feriancová, 2013;Tóth, Štěpánková & Feriancová, 2016). Moreover, green infrastructure can be a reinterpreting and directing concept in urban and rural development (Karadeniz et al, 2020). In intra-urban areas, a significant part of green infrastructure is represented by urban green spaces and green areas, which have a marked impact on the quality of life and well-being of residents (Bihuňová et al, 2021), improve the overall community health (Marques, McIntosh & Chanse, 2020) and serve as an important climate change mitigation tool (Rózová et al, 2020).…”