Page 22 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 2

The Relationship Between Resilient Settlement And
Construction And Sustainability

be added to these centers. Finally, recreational areas such as parks, cafes, and
restaurants as well as religious structures were added to industrial settlements.
These requirements brought about a new socio-cultural life (Aydın, 2021).
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Since the 19 century, the opportunities created by industrialization,
informatics, technology and energy use affect the traditional fabric of pre-
agricultural societies directly or indirectly. The industrial cities built from scratch
in the west, planned this transformation and took precautions, but in many
rapidly industrialized settlements, the transformation was disorganized. The
increased industrialization practices accelerated migration, also increasing
settlements. Cities with unexpected population increase beyond their
capacity were affected directly from this transformation while rural settlements
were affected indirectly. Over the century, unplanned and crowded industrial
centers started to experience serious issues including environmental
pollution, traffic problem, and the need to maintain services for the increased
population. Until the global pandemic that we experienced in the first quarter
of the 21st century, rural areas were not affected by this transformation and
maintained their existence unless they are on an important transportation
network, water routes, or energy sources, or unless they suffered from tourism
pressure. However, the relevant global pandemic reminded the humankind of
the importance of rural settlements. Unfortunately, these settlements, which
embody ancient knowledge based on environment and climate, are under the
pressure of disorganized, unplanned settlements.
Although around 30% of the world population lived in cities in the 1950s,
in 2007, the number of city residents exceeded those living in the countryside
for the first time, and this trend towards urbanization continues. In 2020, this
ratio reached 57% (Gerçek, 2021). In other words, it is possible to say that
the population of the world cities doubled in the last 70 years. Although
considered very short in the course of world history, during this 70-year
period, with their increased populations, cities have had to deal with natural
disasters as well as economic and social crises through risk action plans. It is
estimated that by 2030, 60% of the world population will be living in the cities
while in 2050, the figure will reach up to 70% (Gerçek, 2021). Rural settlements
are sparsely populated, self-sufficient areas due to values dating back to
thousands of years ago. In fact, they are areas which can even supply big
cities with goods if needed, and exist on their own. The population living /
having to live in the cities due to conditions such as educational, economic,
health, and job opportunities usually maintain their organic bond with the
rural area they come from. The population without any link to the countryside
have an increasing demand for weekends or vacation homes in rural areas.
This is increasing construction around the world every passing day. Increased
construction activities bring about environmental issues.

Year 1 / Issue 2 / July 2022 8