Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE OF GAZI UNIVERSITY, cilt.41, sa.1, ss.201-210, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus, TRDizin)
This study analyzes land use and land cover (LULC) changes in Mersin in the aftermath of the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmara & scedil; earthquakes. The disaster-induced migration influx accelerated spatial transformations, with urban areas expanding while green spaces declined. Using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery from 2022 and 2025, classification was conducted through Google Earth Engine (GEE) and the Random Forest (RF) algorithm. Results indicate that urban areas increased from 48% to 50%, green spaces decreased from 44% to 37%, and bare surfaces rose from 8% to 13%. Transfer matrix analysis shows that most of the urban growth came at the expense of green areas. These shifts are closely tied to the demand for housing and construction triggered by rapid migration. Spatial outcomes were also compared with the 1:100,000 Adana-Mersin Environmental Master Plan, revealing discrepancies between planning decisions and actual land-use dynamics. The findings highlight significant risks for sustainable urbanization, particularly regarding the loss of agricultural land and ecological balance. Overall, the study provides timely insights into post-disaster urbanization and underscores the need for planning frameworks that integrate disaster-driven migration and promote resilient, sustainable development strategies.