TRANSFORMATION OF LAND USE /LAND COVER (LULC) UNDER RAPID URBANIZATION IN ADANA, TURKEY

Adana, one of the biggest cities of Turkey, is located on the Cukurova Plain of the Mediterranean Region. Cukurova Region, whose agricultural potential with fertile soils formed by alluvial deposit and suitable climate is quite high, has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization over the past four decades. Depending on industrial activities and population growth, Adana has entered a process of both socio-cultural and spatial change in the 1970s. Nowadays its urbanization process rapidly continues with population about two million. In this study, spatial changes and agricultural land loss is analyzed caused by urban sprawl using the Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques.