**2. Ecological approach in organization process of urban space**

On the one hand, urban growth and urbanization have caused built environment to expend, on the other hand, built environment growing together with the economic development has negative impacts on the natural resources. From planning perspective, in most of the settle‐ ments or cities, natural resources have not been taken into account during urban growth and economic development due to the lack of ecological approach in planning or decision-making process [5].

From planning to design, there are three dimensions of ecological approach for making cities livable. None of them has not priority but all of them should be considered and guide to spatial organization process of urban space for livable and sustainable cities and also sustainable urbanization. Human, nature and built environment trio and the relation among them should guide to planners, urban designers, architects, urban policies in planning process from the beginning to the end based on ecology. From people-oriented approach, basically and

**Figure 1.** Human in the nature.

and have risen to ecological and biological destruction on natural resources. When the global population continues to grow, dramatic challenges in the early twenty-first century are those ecosystems are changing from the landscape to the global scales, due to increase in popula‐ tion and urbanization [1]. It is time to consider all decisions from planning strategies to architectural design and usage of technologic tools for retro-fitting ecological condition in the cities. The result to be occurred is to change the view point looking and taking into account

Adoption of the city as an ecosystem gives rise to protection and consideration of this ecosystem for spatial organizations at every scale and adoption of ecological balance in land use planning. Fictionalize of urban space is a process starting planning. If ecological ap‐ proach guides not only in planning, but also in urban design and building design process, natural resources can be used without consumption and it can be enabled that people live in

Urban ecology has become an expanding field ofresearch during the last two decades. Various studies carried out on urban climate, soils, flora, fauna, urban habitats, and green space of cities [2]. Urban areas contain many land use types and every land-use type has a distinctive structure from vegetation perspective. The knowledge of characteristic vegetation structure of land-use types can help making a connection between urban areas and surrounding natural

Recently, although some issues like rational utilization of natural resources and energy efficiency in buildings have been taken place in legal legislation in some developing coun‐ tries, still there are some issues to be added to the legislative frame and application process in order to decrease ecological footprint on the settlements and built environments, not only consume at minimum level of natural resource but take maximum advantage from them. Transformation of nonrenewable natural resources to the unique capital of socio-economic development and growth process is depend on adoption of the eco-economic policies and utilization of the eco-technologies enabling the life circle and increasing retrieval possibili‐

There is an increasing need to enable the transformation of our preferences from using nonrenewable resources to renewable energy, non-consumable resources in order to supply fundamental human requirements [4]. This will demand a large data source of ecological

For sustainable urbanization, as many scientists have pointed out, growing urban environ‐ ment depend on human's increasing demands, it is time to consider planning, design, and producing strategies and to measure with indicators ecological footprints, CO2 emissions, air and water pollution, degradation, deforestation, and unpredictable urban sprawl. To realize monitoring and controlling the issues mentioned above, there is a need for frameworks

areas and taking advantage for studies building up urban open space systems [3].

ties of wastes which occur in every steps of consumption process.

planning and design tools, indicators, case studies, and applicators.

theoretically constituted and applicable.

or monitoring cities and settlements in which we live.

a healthy urban environment.

252 Sustainable Urbanization

**Figure 2.** Human and growing built environment in the nature.

schematic presentation on the relation of human and nature is that human is a point in the nature (**Figure 1**).

There is an interaction between human and the nature, both human has an impact on the nature for his vital activities and the nature influences on the human. Once, it was an organic interaction among human, surroundings and nature (**Figure 1**). But negative and devastating effect on the other is coming from human (**Figure 2**). Human changes his en‐ vironment for housing, recreational, commercial, or industrial activities. This is the begin‐ ning of his making nature destroyed when built environment occurs.

The simplified relation between human and built environment surrounded him, shown in **Figure 2**, is everywhere in which human groups or community live. From holistic approach to nature, built environment, which is the footprint of human in the nature, looks as if it is a kind of viral infection covered the whole body. Beginning ecological framework, it is of great importance that understanding human and urban environment from aspects based on ecology is necessary.

#### **2.1. Human ecology**

Originally coming from the Greek root oikos meaning "home", the term of ecology was the basis for the field of home economics. Then, it was changed to human ecology by many contemporary researches. Looking at humans as not only social beings, but also biological organism, human ecology theory focuses on interaction between human and their environ‐ ments; thus, emphasized issues in this theory are utilization and management of resources for human development and sustainability [6].

Ecology is commonly defined as the study of the relation of organisms to their environment [7]. The position of human ecology in this context was determined primarily by the point of view cultivated initially sociologists, particularly to account for certain aspects of American cities in the first quarter of nineteenth century [7]. While the cities of that period were experiencing rapid and troubled growth, and therefore, the focus of human ecology changed direction to a concern with the humans' environment. This aspect added useful content to the issue of spatial analysis [7].

The city is a conspicuous example of a system of relationships among differentiated activi‐ ties by means of which a population is able to occupy a unit of territory. Although ecology includes the relation between all living organisms and their environment, human ecology is on the relation between only humans and their environment. Quite clearly, therefore, human ecology is a sociological concern [7]. From this point, it is necessary to consider interaction between human and environment and as well interaction between the social system of humans and the rest of the ecosystem, because an ecosystem includes all built elements by humans as parts of the ecosystem [8].

Based on short definitions and approaches about human ecology mentioned above, this interaction and relationship should be taken into account as a system, in decision and policy making process on urban land, so that next generations can live sustainable settlements.

#### **2.2. Urban ecosystem**

schematic presentation on the relation of human and nature is that human is a point in the

There is an interaction between human and the nature, both human has an impact on the nature for his vital activities and the nature influences on the human. Once, it was an organic interaction among human, surroundings and nature (**Figure 1**). But negative and devastating effect on the other is coming from human (**Figure 2**). Human changes his en‐ vironment for housing, recreational, commercial, or industrial activities. This is the begin‐

The simplified relation between human and built environment surrounded him, shown in **Figure 2**, is everywhere in which human groups or community live. From holistic approach to nature, built environment, which is the footprint of human in the nature, looks as if it is a kind of viral infection covered the whole body. Beginning ecological framework, it is of great importance that understanding human and urban environment from aspects based on ecology

Originally coming from the Greek root oikos meaning "home", the term of ecology was the basis for the field of home economics. Then, it was changed to human ecology by many contemporary researches. Looking at humans as not only social beings, but also biological organism, human ecology theory focuses on interaction between human and their environ‐ ments; thus, emphasized issues in this theory are utilization and management of resources for

Ecology is commonly defined as the study of the relation of organisms to their environment [7]. The position of human ecology in this context was determined primarily by the point of view cultivated initially sociologists, particularly to account for certain aspects of American cities in the first quarter of nineteenth century [7]. While the cities of that period were experiencing rapid and troubled growth, and therefore, the focus of human ecology changed direction to a concern with the humans' environment. This aspect added useful content to the

The city is a conspicuous example of a system of relationships among differentiated activi‐ ties by means of which a population is able to occupy a unit of territory. Although ecology includes the relation between all living organisms and their environment, human ecology is on the relation between only humans and their environment. Quite clearly, therefore, human ecology is a sociological concern [7]. From this point, it is necessary to consider interaction between human and environment and as well interaction between the social system of humans and the rest of the ecosystem, because an ecosystem includes all built elements by humans as

Based on short definitions and approaches about human ecology mentioned above, this interaction and relationship should be taken into account as a system, in decision and policy making process on urban land, so that next generations can live sustainable settlements.

ning of his making nature destroyed when built environment occurs.

nature (**Figure 1**).

254 Sustainable Urbanization

is necessary.

**2.1. Human ecology**

issue of spatial analysis [7].

parts of the ecosystem [8].

human development and sustainability [6].

As outlined by most theorists, an ecosystem consists of three indicative components: hu‐ mans, their environment, and the interactions between them. In urban ecosystems, highdensity population, orthe built structure of environment occupies a large place on the land [9]. There is now convincing proof on changing nearly all ofthe earth's ecosystems by humans [10]. With urbanization becoming a global phenomenon, urban population increased all over the world causing huge pressure on the environment [11]. Land consumption, habitat fragmen‐ tation, and biodiversity loss may have negative impacts on society and economic systems on a local scale, impacting urban sustainability [11].

In order to comprehend the impact of urbanization, a clear consideration of the temporal dynamics, although constantly missing, is vital for determination impacts on biodiversity in rapidly urbanizing landscapes [12]. While more than half of the natural resources are used by humans, whereas approximately half of the land cover has been changed by human actions causing important losses of biodiversity [10]. As a result of these activities, most ecosystems can argumentatively be taken into account human-dominated ecosystems; nevertheless, humans are also building different ecosystems particularly for residence as urban ecosys‐ tems [10].

Although city is a settlement in which people live and whose population exceeds the certain amount, urban ecosystem is a living organism with specific dynamics and components. If relation and interaction of the elements and components in this organism occur according to ecological principles, it is possible that livable and healthy urban spaces can be built up. Urban lands contain heterogeneous materials with a variety of lands and complex interac‐ tions. Excluding water surfaces, the combinations of impermeable surface materials, green‐ ery plants, and soil are essential elements of the urban ecosystem [13]. An evaluated model contains above approaches "*in reference* [13]" which proposes a large content of data for ur‐ ban ecosystem researches on physical and ecological characteristics of the nature and hu‐ man disturbances.

Comprehension the relation and interaction between humans and natural components of urban ecosystems are major characteristics of the integrated model combining social quali‐ fications of humans and their establishments [14]. As the emergent phenomena of local scale [15], cities are now recognized as ecosystems, and many of the concepts and theories considered central to ecosystem ecology can be modified for application to urban systems [16]. Long-term environmental changes in urban ecosystems have raised commitments among scientists, researchers across several disciplines, having a determining role in poli‐ cies, plans, designs, and management strategies to reply to these changes. Integrating eco‐ logical researches with urban policies, planning, design, and management strategies is complex, yet it is one of the significant themes and research preferences in landscape ecolo‐ gy [17]. It is necessary that ecologists, social scientists, urban planners, urban designers, landscape architects, and whoever concerns urban issues to use such interdisciplinary knowledge for development of cities and sustainable settlements, they need to work in col‐ laboration with interdisciplinary approaches in order to address this challenge.
