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

Year 2016, Volume: 11 Issue: 3, 229 - 240, 30.09.2016

Murat Kavurmaci

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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