**6. Discussion: Strategies for sustainable urban development of Bursa**

There is an urgent need for new strategies and policies to strengthen the role of Bursa as a historic city, providing socio-cultural integration, economic vitality and sustainable living environments. More flexible and responsive planning tools that require a strategic understanding and good local knowledge are needed to manage these development goals. It must be highlighted that a considerable effort in developed countries has been devoted to the measurement of sustainability indicators. To adopt this approach may be the starting point for Turkey, as for the other developing countries. Research and analysis of specific realities in different urban settlements are required in order to find possible ways of achieving sustainable urban development of historic cities in developing countries, like Bursa.

As understood from the related literature and successful implementations all over the world, achieving sustainable development requires appropriate policies of planned higher density, mixed – used development in city centers and in peripheries along corridors well served with public transportation. The planning approach to the development of historic city center in Bursa should be more sensitive to the existing traditional fabric, which can accommodate a whole range of economic activities. The value of the social network of traditional neighbourhoods, cultural diversity and economic opportunities should be recognized and, rather than being swept away, they should undergo environmental improvement in order to increase carrying capacity of the historic city core. On the other hand, the ongoing migration and urbanization processes and location of the existing immigrant housing settlements show that Bursa will be a polynucleated metropol in a very near future. The important points of attention for the future developments should be first of all improvement of public transportation and road capacities, and then intensification of existing low-density areas, particularly around transport interchanges and along transport corridors. These will bring about the prevention of existence of new settlement areas in the periphery of the city.

As a last word, action for sustainable urban development needs to be taken at all levels, but local authorities and communities themselves may be best able to set priorities for and to implement projects. Consequently, investigations about the psychological and socio-cultural aspects of urban environment have to be considered as a vital part of the sustainability policy of the historical cities.
