Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic with Urbanization Issues: The Case of Turkey

This study aims to reveal the non-random relationship between urbanization and the COVID-19 pandemic. This research, which uses urban built environment factors such as urbanization rate, rate, number and density of construction, and transportation and communication infrastructure, as well as demographic characteristics such as population, employment and education in 81 provinces in Turkey, aims to reveal how and to what extent different urbanization experiences affect the spread of COVID-19. Using datasets obtained from different institutions, this article firstly examines the relationships of urban built environment factors with the level of COVID-19 using Hierarchical Multiple Regression analysis. Then, by dividing 81 provinces into five different categories (very low, low, medium, high and very high) according to their COVID-19 case rates and applying MANOVA and ANOVA analyses, this article tries to reveal how the variables representing the demographic structure, together with the urban built environment factors, differ according to different risk groups. The findings of the study clearly reveal that urban factors play an effective role in the spread of COVID-19. Since Turkey is a country that consists of cities with different urbanization histories and development experiences, it is expected that the findings presented in the study will contribute to the understanding of current urban problems, especially within the framework of urban and public health, and to post-pandemic planning approaches and research.

COVID-19 Pandemisini Kentleþme Sorunlarýyla Ele Almak: Türkiye Örneði

Bu çalýþma, kentleþme ile COVID-19 salgýný arasýndaki rastlantýsal olmayan iliþkiyi ortaya çýkarmayý hedeflemektedir. Türkiye’deki 81 ilin nüfus, istihdam ve eðitim gibi demografik özelliklerinin yanýnda, kentleþme oraný, yapýlaþma hýzý, sayýsý ve yoðunluðu ve ulaþým ve iletiþim altyapýsý gibi kentsel yapýlý çevre faktörlerini kullanan bu araþtýrma, farklý kentleþme deneyimlerinin COVID-19'un yayýlmasýný nasýl ve ne ölçüde etkilediðini ortaya koymayý amaçlamaktadýr. Farklý kurumlardan elde edilen veri setlerini kullanan bu makale, ilk olarak Hiyerarþik Çoklu Regresyon analizi kullanarak kentsel yapýlý çevre faktörlerinin COVID-19 düzeyi ile iliþkilerini incelemektedir. Ardýndan, bu çalýþma 81 ili COVID-19 vaka oranlarýna göre beþ farklý kategoriye (çok düþük, düþük, orta, yüksek ve çok yüksek) ayýrarak ve MANOVA ve ANOVA analizlerini uygulayarak, kentsel yapýlý çevre faktörleriyle birlikte demografik yapýyý temsil eden deðiþkenlerin farklý risk gruplarýna göre nasýl farklýlaþtýðýný ortaya koymaya çalýþmaktadýr. Çalýþmanýn bulgularý kentsel faktörlerin COVID-19’un yayýlmasýnda etkili rol oynadýðýný açýk bir biçimde ortaya koymaktadýr. Türkiye, farklý kentleþme öykülerine ve geliþme deneyimlerine sahip kentlerden oluþan bir ülke olduðundan, çalýþmada ortaya konulan bulgularýn, özellikle kent ve toplum saðlýðý çerçevesinde mevcut kentsel sorunlarýn anlaþýlmasýna ve salgýn sonrasý planlama yaklaþýmlarýna ve araþtýrmalarýna katký sunmasý beklenmektedir.