Browsing by Author "Ustaoglu, Eda"

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Building composite indicators for the territorial quality of life assessment in European regions: combining data reduction and alternative weighting techniques
(SPRINGER, 2023) Ustaoglu, Eda; Lopez, Gloria Ortega; Gutierrez-Alcoba, Alejandro; 0000-0001-6874-5162; AGÜ, Yönetim Bilimleri Fakültesi, Ekonomi Bölümü; Ustaoglu, Eda
Development of composite indicators is a challenging task given that sustainability indices are strongly dependent on how the sub-indicators are weighted. This is because relative indicator weights may signifcantly difer based on the chosen weighting methods used in the analysis. There is hardly any study that has paid attention to this issue so far. Therefore, this paper aims to fll this gap in the literature by searching the robustness of selected weighting methods, i.e. entropy-weight (EW), principal component analysis (PCA), machine learning approaches (random forest-RF), regression analysis (RA) and beneft-ofthe-doubt (BOD) when constructing a composite indicator. To research the current sustainability performance of European regions, the present study focuses on the Territorial Quality of Life Index—initially proposed by the ESPON Programme—that are aligned with the specifc targets of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. The methods to construct composite indicators include stages of data preparation (including the estimation of missing values with random forest method), normalization, statistical transformation of raw data, reduction of indicators in order to ease public communication (using the PCA method) and data interpretation, weighting of the sub-indicators using EW, PCA, RF, RA and BOD methods and their linear weighted aggregation, and checking for robustness and sensitivity. The results suggest that there are signifcant diferences in the rank and spatial distribution of composite indicators based on the use of diferent weighting methods considered in the analysis. The results from sensitivity analysis support the robustness of entropy-weight method among others. The methodology used in the current analysis can be adapted to other study areas and regions internationally. The fndings showed that Eastern European countries and some Mediterranean countries have relatively lower index values compared to other European regions; therefore, policy and planning actions are needed covering these regions specifcally.
Institutional Settings and Effects on Agricultural Land Conversion: A Global and Spatial Analysis of European Regions
(MDPI, 2023) Ustaoglu, Eda; Williams, Brendan; 0000-0001-6874-5162; AGÜ, Yönetim Bilimleri Fakültesi, Ekonomi Bölümü; Ustaoğlu, Eda
Spatial planning systems and institutions have a significant role in managing non-agricultural land growth in Europe and the assessment of how their implementation impacts on agricultural land consumption is of great significance for policy and institutional improvement. Reducing the area of agricultural land taken for urban development, or eliminating such conversion, is an international policy priority aiming to maintain the amount and quality of land resources currently available for food production and sustainable development. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of land use planning systems and institutional settings on urban conversion of agricultural land in the 265 NUTS2 level EU27 and UK regions. Taking these regions as the unit of our analysis, the research developed and used global and local econometrics models to estimate the effect based on socio-economic, institutional and land use data for the 2000-2018 period. There is limited research focusing on the impacts of institutional settings and planning types of the European countries on the conversion of agricultural land. Furthermore, existing research has not considered the spatial relationships with the determinants of agricultural land conversion and the response variable, therefore, our research aimed to contribute to the literature on the subject. The results showed that the types of spatial planning systems and institution variables significantly impact the conversion of agricultural land to urban uses. Socio-economic indicators and areas of agricultural and urban land have significant impact on agricultural land conversion for any type of spatial planning system. A further result was that decentralization and political fragmentation were positively associated with agricultural land conversion while quality of regional government and governance was negatively associated. A local regression model was assessed to explore the different spatial patterns of the relationships driving agricultural land conversion. The main empirical finding from this model was that there was spatial variation of driving factors of agricultural land conversion in Europe.
The Inter-Relationships of Territorial Quality of Life with Residential Expansion and Densification: A Case Study of Regions in EU Member Countries
(MDPI, 2024) Ustaoglu, Eda; Williams, Brendan; 0000-0001-6874-5162; AGÜ, Yönetim Bilimleri Fakültesi, Ekonomi Bölümü; Ustaoglu, Eda
High-density urban development is promoted by both global and local policies in response to socio-economic and environmental challenges since it increases mobility of different land uses, decreases the need for traveling, encourages the use of more energy-efficient buildings and modes of transportation, and permits the sharing of scarce urban amenities. It is therefore argued that increased density and mixed-use development are expected to deliver positive outcomes in terms of contributing to three pillars (social, economic, and environmental domains) of sustainability in the subject themes. Territorial quality of life (TQL)-initially proposed by the ESPON Programme-is a composite indicator of the socio-economic and environmental well-being and life satisfaction of individuals living in an area. Understanding the role of urban density in TQL can provide an important input for urban planning debates addressing whether compact development can be promoted by referring to potential efficiencies in high-density, mixed land use and sustainable transport provisions. Alternatively, low-density suburban development is preferable due to its benefits of high per capita land use consumption (larger houses) for individual households given lower land prices. There is little empirical evidence on how TQL is shaped by high-density versus low-density urban forms. This paper investigates this topic through providing an approach to spatially map and examine the relationship between TQL, residential expansion, and densification processes in the so-called NUTS2 (nomenclature of terrestrial units for statistics) regions of European Union (EU) member countries. The relative importance of each TQL indicator was determined through the entropy weight method, where these indicators were aggregated through using the subject weights to obtain the overall TQL indicator. The spatial dynamics of TQL were examined and its relationship with residential expansion and densification processes was analysed to uncover whether the former or the latter process is positively associated with the TQL indicator within our study area. From our regression models, the residential expansion index is negatively related to the TQL indicator, implying that high levels of residential expansion can result in a reduction in overall quality of life in the regions if they are not supported by associated infrastructure and facility investments.