Abstract:

Malatya is one of the provinces accepted as a metropolitan city with the law numbered 6360. Yeşilyurt, one of the central districts, was formed by combining various neighbourhoods and villages where agricultural production is common. Connecting the aforementioned agricultural lands to a district municipality facilitated the construction activities in the lands. In addition, the increase in population due to reasons such as birth and migration has created a high demand for housing in the district, and farmlands have been opened to development by including urban sprawl. In this study, the effects of urban sprawl, which is realized by the effect of urban policies carried out by the state, on farmlands are discussed. The urban change caused by the rant seeking behaviour has been determined by examining the farmlands in Çilesiz Neighbourhood of Yeşilyurt District through satellite images, development plans and considering the data obtained in the field research. This study argues that the lands that are important for agricultural production in Malatya Province should not be sacrificed for the sake of urban development/unearned income and that the production in agricultural areas near to the city centers should continue in the context of sustainable policies.

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