The northwest of Turkey represents a concentration of economic-industrial development and rapid population growth that contributes to urban sprawl when compared to other regions across the country (Maktav and Erbek 2005).
In order to relieve pressure on such large urban agglomerations, an unsustainable human settlement development has been promoted over 30 years.
However, bringing the development of urban areas into harmony with the sustainable settlements and the natural environment is one of the fundamental tasks to be undertaken (Tacoral et al. 2015).