A proper tool of Orderly urbanization: Turkish land readjustment

Abstract

Preparation of development plans appropriately has vital importance in provision of orderly urbanization. These plans are generally prepared by planning authorities or local governments with involvement of relevant parties. Then, the plans need to be implemented to the field properly. This process is also as much important as the preparation process. Proper implementation can be achieved by using a right tool. The tools used in this process change in different countries throughout the world. While some tools allow plan implementations are carried out sporadically, some others provide implementation of plan in a group of land parcels at the same time. Both types of these tools which are named as voluntary applications and land readjustment are used in Turkey. Voluntary applications are subdivision and consolidation of land parcels, boundary adjustment, and leaving public areas free of charge. These are carried out by application of the landowner(s) to the relevant municipality. Therefore, development plan is implemented over time and sporadically. This patchwork implementation results with a partly disordered urbanization as development parcels formed with the implementation do not have good geometrical shapes to construct buildings. The areas allocated to public use in the development plans also need to be expropriated by the relevant public institutions in the voluntary applications tool. On the other hand, Land Readjustment (LR) allows implementation of a development plan in a group of neighbouring parcels at once. Development parcels formed with the LR have good geometrical shapes to construct buildings. Public areas are obtained without expropriation in these projects from landowners in consideration of the value increase arising from the project application. In this context, this study describes Turkish LR as a proper tool of orderly urbanization.