DEMOGRAPHIC MOVEMENTS IN THE TOWNSHIP OF
Transkript
DEMOGRAPHIC MOVEMENTS IN THE TOWNSHIP OF
УПРАВЛЕНИЕ И ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ TOM V (2) 2009 MANAGEMENT AND EDUCATION VOL. V (2) 2009 DEMOGRAPHIC MOVEMENTS IN THE TOWNSHIP OF BÜYÜKÇEKMECE Mesut Doğan ДЕМОГРАФСКОТО РАЗВИТИЕ В ОБЩИНА БУЮКЧЕКМЕДЖЕ Месут Доган ABSTRAC: The township of Büyükçekmece is located in the European side of Istanbul. It is surrounded by the townships of Silivri in the west, Çatalca and Arnavutköy in the north, Esenyurt in the east with Beylikdüzü in the east and southeast and by the Marmara Sea in the south. Its population does not have a static structure, and so it is in a constant fluctuation. This fluctuation continues depending, apart from births and deaths, on migrations. Since the time of the existence of humans, political, economic, and socio-cultural developments have continued in human life. These developments have affected the population in every way and have caused changes in its structure. Because of Istanbul’s expansion from center to periphery, Büyükçekmece, located in the western part of Istanbul, has been affected by this fact. Especially after 1985, it has been observed a great development in the population of Büyükçekmece. Today, with its economic life and tourism activities, this township, which has gained various functions because of the expansion of housing, will have an important place in the future. Key Words: Turkey, Büyükçekmece, Population, Development as was in the past. When important areas are examined, it can be realized that multifunctional areas are always attractive and tend to develop. Throughout the history, Büyükçekmece became prominent for its assorted functions such as its political, economic, transportation and tourism sides. The Lakes Büyükçekmece and Küçükçekmece, 12 km away from each other in the west of Istanbul, attract the attention of the people because the Lake Büyükçekmece was blocked by the sea, a cove formed out and its was invaded by the sea with the last transgression in the lake pleistocene, which formed an estuary. A spit at its mouth which gradually progressed and blocked its sea connection created the Lake Büyükçekmece. In the south of the spit, a cove formed out, which is called “çekmece” (drawer). The cove which came into being at that spot is larger than that of Küçükçekmece and it was called Büyükçekmece (the Large Drawer). In fact the Lake Küçükçekmece is larger than the Lake Büyükçekmece. The size of Büyükçekmece is 12km2, where as that of Küçükçekmece is 15km2. The adjectives were adhered according to the size of the coves, not because of the size of the lakes. Those two lakes came into being thanks to the separation of the old estuary and coves from the sea on the side of cordons (Inandık, H. 1965, p.6). Our study area exhibits The town Büyükçekmece, in the west of Istanbul in Çatalca District of Marmara Region, is surrounded by Silivri in the west, Çatalca and Arnavutköy in the north, Esenyurt in the east and Beylikdüzü in the southeast and by the Marmara Sea in the South. (Graphic 1) The Lake Büyükçekmece stretches in the north-south direction. Two international roads pass across this town (TEM and E5) connecting Europe to Asia. Borders of the town, which changed frequently in the recent past, cover 181 km2 today. The town was known as Athyra and Atira in the past. While it was a district of the Cadi of Eyüp in the 17th century, it administratively became a part of Çatalca District in 1876, a sub-district of Çatalca in 1926 with the Proclamation of the Republic and a town on 17 June 1897 by the law 3392 of Council of Ministers. By the temporary item 2 of Metropolitan Law dated 23 July 2004 and numbered 5216 in the law “Foundation of new towns in Metropolitan Municipalities” dated 22 March 2008. 2 (Beylikdüzü and Esenyurt) of the new towns were from Büyükçekmece. Büyükçekmece’s morphology is slightly mountainous due to its position in the Çatalca Peninsula. The town, prominent for its role in transportation network, has a highly active and strategic position with its town functions. Its geographical position makes it important today 66 the climatic characteristics of the South Marmara and is especially open to the climatic effects from the Balkans and the North in winter. The flora of Büyükçekmece is almost nonexistent. Graphic 1. Büyükçekmece location map. Büyükçekmece with its position, dating back to the ancient times, contains important transportation routes and borders the sea and has fertile lands, which increased the invasions in the area. Transportation and commercial activities are greatly interdependent. These activities support each other and go hand in hand. Favourable transportation attracted industrial and commercial activities until the last administrative division. Our study area was used as a game and a winter quarter in the pre-Republic period, damaged by the invasions because of its geographical position. Consequesntly, historical buildings also got damaged. Büyükçekmece, called Athyra and Atira, was founded as a colony in the 7th century BC and ruled by the Thracians for a long time. The Hun Emperor Atilla seized Büyükçekmece in 447 BC, which was then included within the borders of the Roman Empire. The area, being on the migration route, became the land of the Eastern Roman Empire, in other words “Byzantine Empire”, after the division of the Roman Empire in 395 AD. Büyükçekmece got affected by the invasion attempts of the Avar Turks in the 7th Century and of Bulgaria in the 9th century. Our study area, seized by the Pechenegs in 1090, became an important resort and accommodation centre of Anatolian Seljuks’ Armies. After the Ottoman Empire crossed over to Rumelia, population movements from Anatolia to the west occurred. It was negatively affected by the Ottoman-Russian War (1829), the Balkan Wars 67 sometimes in small and sometimes in large numbers in a geographical area. Interregional migration and birth rates lead to population movements. Positive or negative conditions a settlement provides directly affect the population and the opportunities. Our study area has always attracted the attention of the people in terms of population movements with its transportation opportunities, fertile agricultural lands, and closeness to Istanbul, which is a social, cultural, economic and political centre. The town got highly urbanized as a result of the different functions which gained importance after the Industrial Revolution and differentiation of various types from each other in terms of function became possible (Göney, 1995, p.50). Industrial movements, which took place in our country after 1950, resulted in great changes and development, visible differences in the geographical area, variations of the functions to make the life easier, change in the construction style, foundation of entertainment and resting places, more extensive daily population flows. Although migration takes place depending on industrialization in economically developed countries, settlements grow in parallel with the natural population growth especially in the underdeveloped countries. The developmental opportunities of a settlement are highly interrelated with its geographical position and regional conditions. Socio-economic development of the settlements is dependent upon the positive and negative effects the nature poses. In our country, the urban coverage and the effect of a settlement are expanding over a large area as a result of the nonagricultural sectors in the settlements growing with the increasing population. Commercial, transportation, tourism, educational, social and cultural functions emerge as a result of the urbanization in Büyükçekmece and these functions became effective in every walk of life. Generally in economically developing countries, there is a flow from rural areas to urban ones, which results from financial problems (of land ownership, natural and economic conditions) and from the fact that cities provide employment with its urban functions offered by urban industries (Tümertekin, 1994, p. 171). Industrial movements which started in Büyükçekmece in 1985 gave rise to a population movement, new dwellings were built and commercial and entertainment centres were founded. Industry institutions provide employment to meet the labour need they themselves created; thus, population movements just account for the amount that they cre- (1912-1913) and the World War I (1914-1918). As is known, wars always have negative effects on the settlement. Due to its strategic position, our study area got socio-economically affected, too. Because it is an active route, some transportation difficulties used to be faced especially when the water of the lake rose up in the rain spell. Therefore, Mimar Sinan (Sinan the Architect) constructed a bridge by the decree of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman. The bridge was used till the end of 1950s and Mimar Sinan Bridge was restored and left out of service after E5 started to run. Büyükçekmece with an important transportation capacity from past to the present possesses routes active throughout the history. The most important and active one is BelgradIstanbul direction. This road used to start in Belgrad and reach the historical peninsula after passing across Niş-Sofia-Meriç plain, Filibe Edirne, Havsa, Babaeski, Lüleburgaz, Büyükkarıştıran, Çoğlu, Ereğli, Silivri, Büyükçekmece, Küçükçekmece and Yedikule. The other active road, which is Tuna-Burgaz-Istanbul route, used to pass through Thrace, the south of Kırıkkale on the Black Sea coastline towards Pınarhisar and got connected to the road above after Sinekli (Mansel, 1938, pp. 6-7). Rhegion (Küçükçekmece) as an important small castle in the early Middle Age, located westward from Byzantine, along the northern coast of the Propontis and small Athyra (Büyükçekmece) Port founded at the mouth of a namesake creek in its west. There was Selymbria on the same coastline (Sevin, 2001, p.21, Ankara). These three cities still preserve their past positions. Especially, Büyükçekmece is important because it connects the others to each other. The increase in the level of the lakes and creek in winter used to affect the transportation negatively. Partial asphalting of the road in 1934 caused minor changes in its economy. This change manifested itself in the replacement of cereals by fruit and vegetables and foundations producing dairy products. This caused an increase in the tomato, pearl onion, melon, maize, anarsa (Gürpınar) vineyards, and livestock feeding and as a result meadows appeared (Akgün 1997, p. 85).Tourism which started in the late 1975 caused the second house ownership and increased the population as a result. General Features Of The Population People have lived dependent on geographical areas since its first appearance. People live 68 man and Zonguldak. In 1831, 464 people were living in Çekmece-i Kebir (Büyükçekmece), 403 in Çekmece-i Sağır (Küçükçekmece) and 29 in Turkeş Farm (Karal‚1943‚s. 29). In 2007, whereas 688774 people were living in Büyükçekmece, where a large population growth has occurred during the last 176 years up to 2007 census, the population was 163140 in 2008 because of the division. By the item 2 of the Metropolitan Law dated 23 July 2004 and numbered 5216, according to the address-based registration system, 163140 people lived in Büyükçekmece after 8 new towns were established in 2008 by the law “Foundation of new towns in Metropolitan Municipalities”, 2 of which (Beylikdüzü and Esenyurt) are from Büyükçekmece. ated (Keleş‚2006‚p.72). Büyükçekmece received immigrants from Sinop, Erzurum and Afyon for the cement factory founded in 1960s, for construction sector from Trabzon, Rize, Giresun, Samsun and Gümüşhane, then for the developing construction sector from Van‚ Urfa‚ Sivas‚ Amasya‚ Tokat‚ Erzincan‚ Kastamonu‚ Adıyaman‚ Diyarbakır‚ Malatya and Çorum. The last migration movement was especially from different towns of Istanbul. Büyükçekmece which gained a position in political and local environment acquired sub-district and town status in a short period of time. By the 2007 census, its population was calculated to be 688774 and so as a town outnumbered 50 provinces including Çanakkale, Kastamonu‚ Sivas, Kütahya‚ Adıya- Table 1: Urban and Rural Population of Büyükçekmece by Census Years Census Year 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 - - 1997 2000 2008 Urban - 1168 1846 2125 2269 3913 5204 8121 11310 129913 259718 373407 163140 Rural 8832 14456 23084 9025 13029 13534 10115 10745 15858 27782 47055 12297 21150 10682 - Total 8832 14456 23084 10193 14875 15659 12384 14658 21062 35903 58365 142910 280888 384089 163140 Source: Turkish Statistical Institute, General Censuses When Table 1 is examined, population in Büyükçekmece calculated from 1950 onward can be seen. Although not only population but also various criteria concerning the living style are evaluated, item 1 of the Village Law numbered 442 passed on 18 March 1924 is being taken into consideration. 1 The calculation of the population carried out in Büyükçekmece in 1950 could result from the fact that the existing lifestyle has urban characteristics other than the population criterion. Roughly, it can be expressed that city population has increased. A general growth is observed in the rural population as in the urban one. It can be realized that the total population in Büyükçekmece increased by 60% in 1945 when compared to 1940. This increase was caused by the settlement of the military units as a result of the World War II. With the ending of the war, it can be realized that population decreased in 1950 when these military units got back to their main units. Population grew as a result of the population exchange with Greece and Bulgaria and the newcomers brought together with themselves various cultures, techniques and methods besides the agricultural activities. 154393 immigrants came to Turkey from Bulgaria as a result of the 19501951 Migration. (Tanoğlu‚1953‚ s.132). The population of the study area increased from 10193 to 14875 by 46% between 1950 and 1955. The reason for this increase is concerned with the immigrants from Bulgaria between 1951 and 1952. Every country is facing internal migration movements while international migration between the countries is going on. This migration movement sometimes happens in large amounts for a specific and significant reason. Within the context of international migration, our study area is one of the places exposed to the migration movement from Bulgaria. One of the effects of the international migrations on employment is cheap labour force (Mutluer‚M.‚ 2003‚ s.17). It can be inferred from Table 1 that population of the town decreased in 1965. This decrease is the result of the fact that Yeşilbayır (Muha), Hoşderei Ömerli and Karaağaç villages became a part of Boyalık District of Hadımköy. The population increased between 1965 and 2007 as a result of the migrations and natural population growth 1 Village Law item 1 Settlements with less than 2000 people are qualified as “village”, with a population ranging from 2000 to 20000 as “town” and over 20000 as “city”. Even though less than 2000 people, districts and province centres are qualified as “town” and subjected to the Municipality Law. http:www.hukuki.net/kanun 69 Table 2: Proportion of Urban and Rural Population to Total Population by Census Years (%). Census Year Urban Rural Total Proportion of the Urban Population to Total Population % Proportion of the Rural Population to Total Population % 1935 - 8832 8832 - 100 % 1950 1168 9025 10193 10.9 % 89.1 % 1985 11310 47055 58365 19.4 % 80.6 % 1990 129217 12297 142210 91.4 % 8.6 % 2000 373407 10682 384089 97.2 % 2.8 % 2008 163140 - 163140 100% 0% Source: Turkish Statistical Institute, Prepared with the Data Obtained from the General Censuses population increased in some village settlements, rural life did not lead a village life, the villages all over the town got overpopulated, they gradually transformed into cities and acquired various functions after 1975. Esenyurt, Girpınar, Kumburgaz, Mimarsinan and Tepecik, which were within the administrative borders of the town in 1990 census, then Kavaklı, Kıraç and Yakuplu in 1997 census and Bahçeşehir in 2000 census were qualified as Town Municipality and were counted as a city. From then on, socio-economic life was led as in urban way in these settlements and urban population increased after 1990 and accordingly rural population diminished It is presented in Table 2 that the rural population of Büyükçekmece, which was a village in 1935, was 8832 and then it can be considered that the centre of the district did not used to have urban features. The population of the city centre accounted for 10.9% of the whole population in 1950, for 19,4% in 1985,for 91,4% in 1990, for 97,2% in 2000 and for 100% in 2008. Contrarily, while rural population accounted for 100% of the total population in 1935, it did for 89,1% in 1950, for 80,6% in 1985, for 8,6% in 1990, for 2,8% in 2000 and for 0% in 2008. It can be understood from Table 2 that rural population was higher than urban population in Büyükçekmece in 1985. In particular, it was observed that Table 3: Increase Rate according to the year 1935 (‰) Census Year Intervals 1935-40 35-45 35-50 35-55 35-60 35-65 35-70 35-75 35-80 35-85 35-90 35-97 35-00 35- 08 Büyükçekmece 67‚7 161‚3 15‚4 68‚4 77‚2 40‚2 65‚9 138‚4 306‚5 560‚8 1518‚0 3080‚3 4248‚8 1747‚1 Source: Turkish Statistical Institute, Prepared with the Data Obtained from the General Censuses wall, was affected by this flow at the same rate and time. Population growth rate of Büyükçekmece accounted for 138.4‰ according to 19351975 censuses and there took place a dense population flow from this date onward. The rate was 306.5‰ in 1935-1980 censuses, 560.8‰ in 1935-1985, 1518‰ in 1935-1990, 3080.3‰ in 1935-1997, 4248.8‰ in 1935-2000 and 1747.1‰ in 1935-2008 When annual population growth rates are analyzed in Table 3, whereas population growth rate was 67.7‰ in the interval 1935-1940, it decreased by 15.4 ‰ in the interval 1935-1950 because of the negative effect the World War II created. Industrial uprise in Istanbul after 1950 caused a population flow from east to west, thus population of Istanbul rapidly increased. Büyükçekmece, 40 km away from Istanbul city Table 4: Population Growth Rates by Census Years (%) Census Year Intervals 1935-40 40-45 45-50 Büyükçekmece 98‚55 93‚61 −163‚49 46 50-55 55-60 60-65 65-70 70-75 75-80 80-85 85-90 90-97 97-00 2000- 08 10‚27 −46‚93 33‚72 72‚50 106‚67 97‚18 179‚10 96‚53 104‚31 −122‚32 Source: Turkish Statistical Institute, Prepared with the Data Obtained from the General Censuses Table 4 of our study area shows that while population growth rate was 98,55% in the census years 1935-1940, 93,64% in 1944-1945, popula- tion decreased by -163,49% in 1945-1950 due to the fact that after the World War II military forces returned to their units. Population which 70 Çatalca and became a town in 17 June 1987 by the law numbered 3392 of the Council of Ministers. The population in Büyükçekmece grew so much that two towns were formed out of it; Beylikdüzü and Esenyurt. In Büyükçekmece, which became a town in 1987, industrial movements started, different settlement areas appeared and accordingly population increased soon. In 2007, a great population potential appeared in the study field and shops and working places enlarged towards the town because of the overpopulated work centres in Istanbul after 1990. Till 2008, around 1000 working places of various sizes were established in Kıraç and in the environs in Büyükçekmece. Local people of Büyükçekmece and commuters were employed in these working places. As a result of this employment, population movements occurred in the socio-economic area and daily population movements were prominent. decreased by -46,93 in 1960-1965 indicates that population of the town had decreased. The reason for the decrease is that Yeşilbayır (Muha)‚ Hoşdere‚ Ömerli and Karaağaç villages became a part of Boyalık District of Hadımköy. However, Karacaağaç and Hoşdere became districts of Büyükçekmece again in the 1975 census. The population increased as a result of the migrations and natural population increase up to 1965-2007. There appeared a difference by 80,65% in comparison to the previous census due to the increase by 33,72% in the 1965-1970 censuses. This increase emerged from the migration of the workers and families from Afyon, Sinop and Erzurum to work for the cement factory founded in Tepecik. During the years this increase took place, Istanbul was slowly enlarging in the westward direction and the increase rate of the population was 179,10% in 1985-1990. At that time, Büyükçekmece was divided from the town Table 5: Distribution of the Population in Büyükçekmece according to Age Groups and Gender (2008) Age Group 0-4 5-9 10-14 Dependent Population 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 Active Population 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 90 + Dependent Population Total Total 12580 13210 13533 39323 12607 13832 16094 15267 13944 12065 10757 8641 6673 4948 114828 3543 2385 1791 870 298 102 8989 163140 Male 6512 6852 6998 20362 6555 6817 8104 7681 6989 6143 5491 4443 3327 2361 57911 1744 1144 792 331 98 30 4139 82412 Female 6068 6358 6535 18961 6052 7015 7990 7586 6955 5922 5266 4198 3346 2587 56917 1799 1241 999 539 200 72 4850 80728 Source: Data pertaining to Population from Turkish Statistical Institute and 23811 of whom are female. Approximate percentage of the total dependent population in the general population is 29.5%, which signifies that every 30 in 100 people are unemployed or As is known, the age groups 0-14 and 65-90 are known as dependent population. Total population of the dependent group is 48312 as inferred from Table 5, 24502 of whom are male 71 is an important amount indicating the amount of the prospective labour force. Percentage of the age group 0-14 in the dependent population is 24%, whereas that of the other age group 65 and over is 5.5%. dependent on the employed. On the other hand, active, that is, working population is 114828, 57911 of which is male and 56817 of whom are female. When compared to the total population, 70,5 of the population is or can be employed. Population of the age group 0-14 is 39323, which 90 + 85-89 80-84 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-4 -10000 -8000 -6000 -4000 -2000 0 2000 Male 4000 6000 8000 10000 Female Graphic 2: Population Pyramid of Büyükçekmece (2008) rates are decreasing in Büyükçekmece. It is striking that the populations of the age groups 25-29, 30-34, 35-39 and 40-44 are high. The abundance of this age group is the cause of the population living in the industrial facilities in the town and its environs In the population pyramid (Graphic 2) created with the same data, the beam representing the age group 0-4 is relatively shortening and similarly the beam of the age group 5-9 is longer that the sub-group 0-4 but shorter than the upper group 10-14. The shortening one standing for the age group 0-9 in Graphic 1 signifies that birth Table 6: Population Change in Büyükçekmece by Census Years (1935-2000) B. Çekmece Ahmediye Gürpınar Bahşayış Hoşdere Çakmaklı Güzelce Esenyurt Kamiloba Karaağaç Kavaklı Kıraç Kumburgaz Mimarsinan Yeşilbayır Ömerli Tepecik Türkoba Yakuplu Bahçeşehir Total 1935 1366 247 834 212 503 299 298 374 642 307 291 250 306 1137 333 220 605 174 434 8832 1940 4456 260 980 550 259 304 360 618 271 353 282 344 2377 478 241 1492 188 534 14456 1945 5631 330 1757 1475 354 434 403 662 397 410 332 606 1830 3672 2072 1056 236 848 23084 1950 1168 281 1065 636 351 398 485 671 254 420 311 423 1312 447 340 788 283 560 10193 1955 1846 323 1108 1642 298 405 511 682 267 414 315 444 3035 1365 402 921 293 584 14875 1960 2125 370 1110 1811 287 523 981 652 471 460 664 518 2006 960 332 1065 309 884 15659 1965 2269 376 1207 334 592 1410 702 486 365 693 1637 1200 342 771 12384 1970 3913 435 1305 344 722 923 501 371 928 2296 1607 339 974 14658 1975 5204 473 1578 802 801 999 1631 325 628 435 1270 2232 3134 505 1045 21062 1980 8125 664 2812 864 525 211 6636 451 866 544 2750 3138 4805 364 1252 35903 1985 11310 802 3584 924 702 1366 21290 399 1021 826 2569 4083 7382 436 1664 53365 1990 22394 1183 10191 1538 1633 70280 681 2170 2239 7118 7690 12240 712 2841 120516 Source: Turkish Statistical Institute, Prepared with the Data Obtained from the General Censuses 72 1997 41644 1300 20702 12915 3675 100565 868 24475 10353 8329 15204 14588 2392 23878 239244 2000 35860 1197 25479 4593 148981 1263 39884 24217 10352 25858 18797 3629 24960 19018 384089 population of the whole town with its 23 quarters was decided to be urban population. The Quarters of Büyükçekmece and Their Populations (2008) Name of the Quarter 2008 1-Batıköy 22268 2-Fatih 16398 3-Atatürk 13906 4-Hürriyet 13428 5-Ulus 13427 6-Mimarsinan 12559 7-Muratçeşme 7853 8-19 Mayıs 7012 9-Kumburgaz 6665 10-Türkoba 6281 11-Güzelce 5986 12-Dizdariye 5911 13-Pınartepe 5204 14-Cumhuriyet 4780 15-Kamiloba 4507 16-Celaliye 4124 17-Bahçelievler 2718 18-Yeni Mah 2357 19-Çakmaklı 1904 20-Muratbey 1691 21-Alkent 1659 22-Ahmediye 1524 23-Karaağaç 978 Total 163140 When Table 6 is analyzed, Bahşayış village, a part of Büyükçekmece District in 1935 became a village of Çatalca Central District in the 1940 census. Bojdar (Hoşdere), Muha (Yeşilbayır), Ömerli and Karacaağaç villages became the villages of Boyalı (Hadımköy) District in the 19651970 censuses, yet Bojdar (Hoşdere) and Karacaağaç re-included within the borders of Büyükçekmece and Kamiloba was included in Silivri with the 1970 census. Güzelce was integrated into the borders of Mimarsinan with the 1990-1997 and 2007 censuses and into those of Kumburgaz in 2008. Bahçeşehir, a quarter of Esenyurt till 2000, acquired the status of a town municipality of Büyükçekmece by including Hoşdere in its body and separated from the town. It joined into the town Başakşehir in 2008. The town got overpopulated and amounted to 688774 in 2007. Esenyurt, Beylikdüzü, Gürpınar, Kavaklı, Kıraç, Yakuplu and Bahçeşehir were excluded from Büyükçekmece by the Decree of the Council of Ministers on 22 March 2008 and Muratbey from Çatalca and Kamiloba and Celaliye from Silivri were included into the borders of Büyükçekmece. As a result of this administrative division, Büyükçekmece was divided into 23 quarters, 2 of which were included in our study field from Silivri (Celaliye and Kamiloba), and 1 from Çatalca (Muratbey). With this last regulation, no villages remained in Büyükçekmece and Graphic 3: Büyükçekmece population map.(2008) (Each point = 500 people) the west, their separation as two-way direction. Expansion of the roads increased the opportunity to work in Istanbul and live in the countryside. The third factor is ownership of holiday houses (the second house) which started to gain importance in 1970s and make the conditions favourable for the appearance and development of vari- Three factors in particular had greatly significant effect in various stages in the population increase of Büyükçekmece. First one of them is the increase in the population of Istanbul and expansion of the urbanization area towards Tuzla in the east and Silivri in the west. Second factor is the regulations of the roads from Istanbul to 73 signifies the environmental and health problems it may potentially cause. As stated before, industrial facilities founded in the town has a remarkable share in the environmental problems. It is necessary that the lake water should not be polluted considering that importance of water will increase in the future. So as to avoid the hazards of the chemicals used in the agricultural practices conducted around the lake, necessary checkups should be carried out with heed. Preventing the dumping of the waste materials from the settlements and commercial facilities around the lake could be beneficial. Careless fishing is doing harm to the natural life and indigenous species of the lake. People having picnic on the shores of the lake at weekend should pay heed not to pollute the lake. Although daily two-way movements in Istanbul are quite intense, we cannot make the utmost benefit from the sea. Especially existing functions should be vitalized for a better marine transportation. Marine transportation to the working places will greatly contribute to Beylikdüzü, Çatalca and Silivri along with Büyükçekmece. Regular and efficient marine transportation will lessen the traffic congestion in central Istanbul. The construction in the south of E5 after 1980 has the potential to mirror the negative effects of a possible earthquake. Because the North Anatolia Fault in the Marmara Sea passing by the town can cause dangerous outcomes for the settlements, it will be true to assign a new colourful function totally concerning sea tourism to the town. Housing and industrial facilities emerging in the fertile agricultural lands will destroy the ones that will gain much more importance in the future. Though huge settlements have appeared in the last years, the absence of an irregular construction pattern is hilarious. Due to its 25-km coastline in the south, it has always been attractive in military, political, commercial, cultural and tourism terms. Tourism activities emerging in the study area in summer cause huge population movements. The density caused by the second house (summer house) owners and day-trippers at weekend results in a visible population flow. It will be useful to restore the infrastructure of some areas to cope with this remarkable population flow. Otherwise, it will be no good to have a Blue Flag for a 4-km beach. The International Culture and Arts Festival held traditionally will be effective in the promotion of the town. The presence of TUYAP (a fair company) in Büyükçekmece made it a culture centre and established universities will contribute to the culture of the town. Mistakes ous functions in Büyükçekmece. Also this factor affirmatively contributed to the population growth. Essentially, recreational services and transportation services developed; thus, these three factors which affected and triggered each other played a significant role in the population growth of the town. In Büyükçekmece, covering 220 km², population density was 1746 people per km² in 2000, whereas it was 901 people per km² in 2008. In 2000, both the population and the town used to cover a larger land. Thanks to the shrinkage of the borders of the town and accordingly the decrease in the population in 2008, the amount of people per km² also decreased. Contrarily, population density of Turkey was 83 people in 2000 and 88 in 2008. The reason why these numbers are much higher than the average of Turkey is that large quantities of people are living in high-rise apartment blocks. Results and Suggestions Thanks to its geographical position, Büyükçekmece attracted the attention of people and still does. As a result of the fact that Istanbul is one of the housing, trade, culture, industry and tourism centres, it rapidly developed in parallel with the population and land prices rose in a short time due to the rising demands. Agricultural areas turned into housing, industry and commerce areas. A sustainable method could not be followed in using the lands during this change process and as a result agricultural lands narrowed down. The study area, one of the important tourism centres of Istanbul since 1970s, is also attractive as a holiday spot, but Büyükçekmece which changed and developed very fast over time was included in the borders of Istanbul. Especially industrial movements in the north and northeast caused a population flow to this area. As a consequence of the increasing population, it formed housing estates and made the area open to various professions. The ones using the Bosporus as a transportation route today as in the past pass across the study area through TEM and E5 highways. These main highway arteries included Büyükçekmece into a transportation network. These highways passing across the north and south of the town decreased the quality of the inhaled air. Cement factory founded in Tepecik happened to be covered by the town borders by the passing of the time and is now giving off white dust particles accumulating on the nearby roofs, which 74 7. 7-Tanoğlu‚ A.‚ 1952-1953‚ The Last Migration Movement of Bulgarian Turks, Istanbul University, Journal of Faculty of Economics, Vol. 14, Issue 132, pp.129-161, Istanbul 8. 8-Mansel A.M.‚ 1938‚ Culture and History of Thrace, Resimli Ay Press, Istanbul 9. 9-Mutluer‚M.‚ 2003‚ International Migrations and Turkey, Çantay Publishing, 17, Istanbul 10. 10-Sevin V. ‚2001‚ Historical Geography of Anatolia I, Turkish Historical Society Press, Ankara 11. 11-TUİK (Turkish Statistical Institute), 2008, General Census, Ankara 12. 12-Tümertekin‚E.‚1994, An Introduction to Human Geography, Istanbul University, Communication Faculty Press, Istanbul made in socio-cultural and economic terms should not be repeated for a more regular and healthy urbanization of this important town. References 1. 1-Akgün‚ H.‚ 1997‚ Büyükçekmece in Urban Development Process, Turkish Democracy Foundation, Istanbul Branch Press, Istanbul 2. 2-Göney‚ S.‚ 1995‚ Urban Geography I, Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters Press, Istanbul 3. 3-İnandık‚ H.‚ 1965‚ Lakes in Turkey, Baha Publishing, Istanbul 4. 4-Karal‚ E.Z.‚ The First Census 1831 of the Ottoman Empire, Turkish Republic General Directorate of Statistics of Prime Minister, Ankara. 5. 5-Keleş‚ R.‚ 2006‚ Urbanization Policy‚ İmge Publishing‚ Ankara. 6. 6-Village Law item 1 Settlements with less than 2000 people are qualified as “village”, with a population ranging from 2000 to 20000 as “town” and over 20000 as “city”. Even though less than 2000 people, districts and province centres are qualified as “town” and subjected to the Municipality Law. http:www.hukuki.net /kanun Mesut Doğan Istanbul University Faculty of Letters Department of Geography Room Number: 718 Beyazıt- Istanbul. e-mail: esutan@istanbul.edu.tr. 75