Generally, it is widely accepted that transport accessibility is one of important factors
and transport plays a crucial role in the location selection of warehouses. A group of variables
is used to explore the effect of accessibility to various transportation modes like
highways, ports and airports in the Istanbul metropolitan area. In Istanbul, two transportation
axes, namely TEM (E80) and E5 (D100) highways, have importance for the location
selection of warehouses. As stated before, while E5 (D100) has transformed into an intracity
road character over time, TEM (E80) still continues to be used as a highway.
However, the effect of two transport axes is not unknown. In the study, their effects are
tested. Also, it is considered that three ports (Tuzla Port, Ambarlı Port and Zeytinburnu
Port) have importance for the location selection. Additionally, Atatu¨rk Airport has transformed
into a significant hub for national and international air traffic. Therefore, it is considered
that Atatu¨rk Airport has an effect on the location selection. The other airport of
Istanbul, Sabiha Go¨kc¸en Airport, as an independent variable has not been included in
the model since it does not create a correlation with the Tuzla Port and due to the fact
that its use for cargo purposes is very low compared with Atatu¨rk Airport. In the study,
transport accessibility is represented by five explanatory variables. These are: E5, TEM,
Tuzlaport, Ambarlıport, Zeytinburnuport and Atatu¨rkairport (Table 2). The variables are
expected to have positive “+” effects on the location selection of warehouses in Istanbul.
All transportation nodes used in the study are seen in Figure 2.
Sub-hypothesis 1: Transport accessibility is effective for location selection of warehouses.