PLAN MODIFICATIONS WITHIN THE CONTEXTS OF PLANNING CONTROL MECHANISMS MERSIN CASE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY TOLGA ÜNLÜ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING DECEMBER 2005 Approval of the Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Prof. Dr. Canan Özgen Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. Ali Türel Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özcan Altaban Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Baykan Günay (METU, CRP) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özcan Altaban (METU, CRP) Prof. Dr. Tamer Gök (Mersin Univ., CRP) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdi Güzer (METU, ARCH) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Çağatay Keskinok (METU, CRP) 1 PLAGIARISM I hereby declare that all information in this thesis document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Tolga Ünlü Signature : iii ABSTRACT PLAN MODIFICATIONS WITHIN THE CONTEXTS OF PLANNING CONTROL MECHANISMS MERSIN CASE Ünlü, Tolga Ph. D., Department of City and Regional Planning Supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özcan Altaban December 2005, 309 pages Urban development plans in the Turkish planning system envision that a time would come and the spatial development of any city would be completed in the specific planning period. The allegation of the planning system is to control every detail during urban development. However, the static nature of development plans within the regulatory context cannot provide strategies to manage the dynamic nature of the socio-political context. This contradictory situation involves tensions in planning control mechanisms and creates cleavages within the spatial context. ‘Changes in the spatial context’ are the indicators of such cleavages. They are conceived to be significant since they might enhance or erode the distinctiveness of a place. To the extent that possibility of change is disregarded in static nature of urban development plans, plan modifications become the primary tools for emergence of the ‘changes in spatial context’. They usually emerge through individual actions and individuals begin to produce their own pattern of urbanism in the urban built environment. Management and control of ‘changes in the spatial context’ is at the very center of the study. It is about shaping the physical form of development rights. The study aims to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative influence of plan modifications on the spatial iv context through a study within the whole contexts of planning control mechanisms. Hence, the study also concentrates on the operation of planning control mechanisms in the Turkish planning system. The plan modifications are evaluated throughout a detailed analysis held within boundaries of Municipality of Greater Mersin. Keywords: Planning control mechanisms, contexts of planning control, changes in spatial context, static and dynamic control, plan modifications v ÖZ PLANLAMA DENETİM MEKANİZMALARININ BAĞLAMLARI İÇİNDE PLAN DEĞİŞİKLİKLERİ MERSİN ÖRNEĞİ Ünlü, Tolga Doktora, Şehir ve Bölge Planlama Bölümü Tez yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Özcan Altaban Aralık 2005, 309 sayfa Türkiye planlama sisteminde imar planları, kentsel gelişmenin, belirlenmiş planlama dönemi içinde bir bütün olarak tamamlanacağını öngörmektedirler. Bu doğrultuda planlama sistemi, kentsel gelişmeyi ayrıntılı bir şekilde denetlemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Ancak, düzenleyici bağlamda temel belgeler olan imar planlarının durağan yapısı, sosyo- politik bağlamın dinamik yapısına yanıt verecek stratejiler üretememektedir. Bağlamlar arasındaki bu çelişik durum, planlama denetim mekanizmalarında gerilimler yaratmakta, bu gerilim ise mekansal bağlamda yarılma/çatlamalar oluşturmaktadır. ‘Mekansal bağlamdaki değişiklikler’, bu yarılma/çatlamaların bir ifadesi olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Bu değişiklikler yerin kendine özgü özelliklerinin geliştirilmesine ya da yıpranmasına ve bozulmasına neden olabilmektedirler. İmar planlarının durağan yapısı değişiklik olasılığını önemsemediği için Türkiye planlama sisteminde plan değişiklikleri ‘mekansal bağlamdaki değişiklikler’in oluşmasında temel araçlar olarak ortaya çıkmaktadırlar ve çoğunlukla bireysel olarak gündeme gelmektedirler. Böylece, bireyler kendi şehircilik biçimlerini/örüntülerini kendileri oluşturmaktadır. vi Bu anlamda, imar haklarının fiziksel biçimlendirilmesiyle ilişikli olan ‘mekansal bağlamdaki değişiklikler’in denetimi ve yönetimi bu çalışmanın merkezinde durmaktadır ve çalışma, plan değişikliklerinin mekansal bağlamdaki niteliksel ve niceliksel etkilerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. ‘Mekansal bağlamdaki değişiklikler’inin ortaya çıkmasında temel etken olarak değerlendirilen plan değişiklikleri, Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi sınırları içinde gerçekleştirilen ayrıntılı bir çalışma ile değerlendirilmektedir. Bu kapsamdaki çalışma planlama denetim mekanizmalarının bağlamları çerçevesinde gerçekleştirilmiştir ve Türkiye planlama sistemi içinde planlama denetim mekanizmalarının işleyişine de odaklanmaktadır. Anahtar kelimeler: Planlama denetim mekanizmaları, plan denetim bağlamları, mekansal bağlamdaki değişiklikler, durağan ve dinamik denetim, plan değişiklikleri vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I greatly would like to acknowledge Raci Bademli, who passed away suddenly and left an irreplaceable gap behind him. I feel fortunate to get acquainted with him both as an educator and as a colleague. This study would not have started if he had not provided his support and encouragements. His memory will continue to live. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Özcan Altaban for his sincere efforts for the completion of this work. He contributed much to the development of the study and did not abstain from giving his valuable comments and contributions to the study. I would like to send my deepest thanks to Baykan Günay, who introduced me with the delights of city planning and urban design. He is a milestone in my both professional and daily lives. I again feel fortunate to have spent a time with him more than a decade as a student, as a research assistant, and as a colleague in the Department of City and Regional Planning. He continuously encouraged me throughout this period, and brought about valuable contributions in the formation of my professional life. I owe my respects to him. Thanks are also due to Tamer Gök, the chairman of the Department of City and Regional Planning in Mersin University. His support is of utmost value. I wish to express my gratitude to the members of my doctoral steering committee for all valuable and innovative supplements to the study. I would also like to thank my colleagues in the Department of City and Regional Planning at METU for providing a supportive environment for me. Especially Fikret Zorlu, Tolga Levent, Burak Beyhan and Cenap Yoloğlu keep their assistance during the processing of the database. I owe debts to planning officers in the municipalities of Mersin. It would be impossible to produce a database without their support. My special thanks go to Cansen Sayılgan, who opened the archive of the planning department in Municipality of Greater Mersin. And, viii also Vefa Sucularlı in Municipality of Greater Mersin, Berna Güllü in Yenişehir Municipality, and Eşe Şamiloğlu and Ferdiye Oğuz in Akdeniz Municipality had a invaluable share during the research phase. I would also like to thank to the staff of the Department of City and Regional Planning in Mersin University, especially to Azize Özbek, Yavuz Salim Yılmaz, and Nihal Gürol for their assistance during the research phase. I would like to express my gratitude to my parents for their encouragement and self- sacrifice throughout all my life, and for their endurance during the study; and to my parents-in-law for their support and patience. I send my special to thanks to my wife Tülin. This study would have not been completed without her great support. We had both encountered a separation for five years during the study, but she always supported me from a distance as if she is with me. And she experienced all phases of the study. I am grateful to her for enduring this more or less toilsome period with me. She always protected her kindheartedness. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM .....................................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................... iv ÖZ ........................................................................................................................................ vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................................viii TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................xiii LIST OF FIGURES ..........................................................................................................