Exploring the Contemporary Dynamics of Extended Urbanisation: a Comprehensive Analysis on the Case of Denizli, Turkey

Abstract

Contemporary discussions about extended urbanization and its inherent practices of suburbanization particularly focus on metropolitan cities in the Global South. There is inadequate empirical evidence on the rapidly developing Anatolian cities in Turkey. To address this gap, this article analyzes Denizli's extended urban development process, elaborates on the dominant practices, and examines the driving forces shaping its rapid, contested, and fragmented socio-spatial landscape. As one of the most ubiquitous cases among rapidly developing Anatolian cities, Denizli highlights the leading role of fragmented urban development planning interventions, the stimulating impact of transportation and infrastructure investments, and the pivotal role of private sector projects. The research consists of urban spatial analysis using statistical data and urban planning documents, detecting land use/cover changes over time, and identifying the driving factors that have influenced and shaped the patterns of urban development in Denizli. The findings indicate that fragmented urban development planning interventions have both triggered and sustained extended urban development in Merkezefendi, Denizli. Moreover, key public investments and real estate projects have fostered this extended urban development process, leading to disjointed fragments in a socioeconomically polarized geography. As a diversified and relational formation of extended urbanization, Denizli provides genuine research findings, and includes remarkable similarities as well as differences in the comparative analysis of global urbanism practices.