Assessing urban transportation development sustainable transportation perspectives for istanbul turkey

Abstract

UN Population Revisions indicate that more than 50% of the worldâs population has lived in âurbanâ areas since 2008 and much of the future âurbanâ population increase will be absorbed more by the few metropolitan areas of rapidly growing developing countries (UN, 2008). Due to the accelerated urban growth and uncontrolled urban dispersion through naturally significant peripheral areas, sustainable urban growth management becomes a critical urban development policy in Istanbul. In this respect, the interaction among urban growth, urban transportation, rational land use allocations and sustainable transportation policies has an important role to achieve more sustainable urban development in Istanbul. Istanbul set a unique example of urban spatial development/urban transportation interaction with Bosphorus bridges and the connecting highways. This chapter first addresses urban spatial dispersion and transportation development interaction with special emphasis on the existing and proposed Bosphorus Bridges, and then correlates the results with the recent Transportation Master Plan and Environmental Master Plan. Although the latest Environmental Master Plan prepared by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality foresights the progression of public transit systems and no third bridge crossing on Bosphorus, there is a top-down impact for the third bridge crossing and a road tunnel on Bosphorus by the Central Government. Due to the interaction among spatial dispersion, transportation development and existing infrastructure, proposed bridges, their connected highways and flyovers â as well as recent transportation investments of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality â are assessed under the light of sustainable urban transportation policies.