Integration of climate adaptation into spatial planning in Turkish cities: A comparative evaluation

Climate change adaptation is increasingly recognized as a core concern of spatial planning, yet the extent to which local adaptation priorities are reflected in statutory land-use decisions remains uncertain. This study evaluates climate-spatial integration at the local level in Türkiye and asks: To what extent are the thematic priorities in local climate adaptation plans reflected in the existing statutory spatial planning framework? A multi-source qualitative comparative research design was applied to four metropolitan municipalities—Sakarya, Konya, Muğla, and Samsun. Directed qualitative content analysis of the 2025 Local Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plans (LCCASPs) was conducted in NVivo 15 using five themes and fourteen sub-themes derived from the literature and international best practices. The results were then contextualized through qualitative document analysis of the corresponding macro-scale statutory spatial plans enacted between 2015 and 2018. The analysis identifies strong recognition of climate risks in the LCCASPs but limited explicit translation of these priorities into binding spatial plan provisions. The findings therefore indicate a baseline policy-implementation gap. Climate Law No. 7552 creates an emerging national framework for stronger coordination and local climate planning; however, effective integration will depend on operational mechanisms that connect climate-risk evidence, institutional coordination, and statutory plan-making.

Keywords: Climate change adaptation, spatial planning, statutory planning, local governance, Türkiye.