Operationalizing Social–Ecological Systems Dynamics Through Spatial Metrics for Urban Waste Space Transformation in İzmir, Türkiye
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19489233 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gurkan Guney (0009-0004-2277-459X, Middle East Technical University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 221 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Urban Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2413-8851 • E-ISSN: 2413-8851 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/urbansci10050221 |
| OpenAlex | W7155215477 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 87 |
Unused, underutilized, abandoned, and residual urban spaces are increasingly recognized as potential resources for adaptive reuse, ecological improvement, and urban resilience. In this study, such areas are approached through the overarching concept of waste space, a term that captures both their underutilized condition and their transformation potential. While existing research has largely focused on the definition, classification, and emergence of such spaces, their potential for transformation across varying spatial and institutional contexts has received comparatively limited attention. Addressing this gap, this study operationalizes selected social–ecological system (SES) dynamics through spatial analysis in the metropolitan area of İzmir, Türkiye, offering a proxy-based assessment of transformation capacity rather than a direct transformation. Using district-level analysis across ten metropolitan districts, this research combines typological and morphological classification of waste spaces with four spatial indicators: the Density Index, Location Quotient, Shannon Diversity Index, and Typology Dominance Index. The results show that waste spaces are unevenly distributed across İzmir and form distinct district-level configurations shaped by infrastructure expansion, post-industrial transformation, speculative vacancy, and fragmented urban growth. This study concludes that waste spaces cannot be addressed through a uniform regeneration logic. By linking SES dynamics with measurable spatial indicators, the proposed framework offers a context-sensitive, proxy-based basis for indicating transformation capacity of waste spaces and supporting district-specific planning and policy decisions
Metropolitan area · Operationalization · Transformation processes · Typology · Urban planning · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Municipal Solid Waste Management · Sustainable Industrial Ecology
Tactical Urbanism
Design After Decline
Input-Output Analysis
Linking objectively measured physical activity with objectively measured urban form
Urban vacancy and land use legacies
Ecological resilience in urban ecosystems
A social-ecological systems approach for environmental management
Integrating Humans into Ecology
Adaptive co‐management for social–ecological complexity
Ecosystems and the Biosphere as Complex Adaptive Systems
A gradient analysis of urban landscape pattern
Fragstats
Indices of landscape pattern
Disentangling the Concept of Density
The concept of ecosystem services in adaptive urban planning and design
The role of spatial metrics in the analysis and modeling of urban land use change
A social–ecological assessment of vacant lots in New York City
A General Framework for Analyzing Sustainability of Social-Ecological Systems
Global Change and the Ecology of Cities
Adaptive Governance of Social-Ecological Systems
Travel demand and the 3Ds
A Mathematical Theory of Communication
Complexity of Coupled Human and Natural Systems
Mapping a framework for social–ecological resilience in reimaging of abandoned spaces
Automatic detection of urban vacant land
Not all brownfields are equal
Urban vacant land typology
Resilience, Environmental Justice and the City
Complex adaptive governance systems
Urban Scenes of a Port City
Unused, underused, and misused
Urban Development and Complexity
A methodological guide for applying the social-ecological system (SES) framework
A review of the social-ecological systems framework
A social-ecological-technological systems framework for urban ecosystem services
Anatomy of density
Are Soil and Geology Characteristics Considered in Urban Planning? An Empirical Study in Izmir (Türkiye)
Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Regeneration
Green Infrastructure for Reintegrating Fragmented Urban Fabrics
A GIS-Based Multi-Tier Framework for Assessing the Ecological Potential of Urban Vacant Land
Advancing adaptive governance of social-ecological systems through theoretical multiplicity
Addressing the Vacant and Abandoned Property Problem
Urban regeneration
Rethinking urban transformation
Vacancy as a laboratory
Exploring the social-ecological systems discourse 20 years later
Social-ecological systems as complex adaptive systems
Resilience, Adaptability and Transformability in Social-ecological Systems
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |