Settlement Suitability Analysis Using Geographical Information System (GIS): A Case Study in Aksaray, Turkey

Abstract

 Selection of settlement sites and the protection of these areas from natural disasters is a difficult and complex process. The destruction caused by earthquakes shows that the existing settlement plans do not attach sufficient importance to soil durability. In this study, settlement suitability map produced on soil durability was developed to determine the spatial distribution of safe locations for settlement using the techniques of the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) on geotechnical and hydrogeological data. To investigate the characteristics of the soil in Aksaray, Turkey, 67 samples were collected through geotechnical borehole. Based on settlement suitability map, four suitability classes were defined as highly suitable, moderately suitable, poorly suitable and unsuitable. The spatial distribution map of soil durability was constructed using the kriging method. For each map, seven different semivariogram models were tested and the model that best fit the data was selected based on the root mean square standardized error. According to the model, approximately 33.2 % of the study area is either suitable or highly suitable to build new settlements and the remaining area (66.8%) can be considered poorly suitable or unsuitable. Areas that are poorly suitable or unsuitable for settlement are concentrated in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the city. This study helped identify the hazardous zones that may affect the construction and design of the superstructure. This study also provides general information on how to determine safe settlement sites. Furthermore, the use of the produced map will reduce human and economic losses due to natural disasters.

Keywords

• Settlement suitability; Soil durability; Geographical Information System

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