Istanbul Gelisim University Faculty of Applied Sciences: Monthly e-Bulletin (November 2023)

Abstract

PERMACULTURE AND SUSTAINABLE URBANIZATION

World Urbanization Day, supported by the United Nations, is celebrated every year on November 8 with various events around the world, to draw attention to the problems in urban areas, to raise awareness about sustainable urbanization, to improve the quality of life of people living in cities and to contribute to urban development. Nowadays, cities are growing rapidly and modern urbanization brings with it environmental problems in many aspects. Problems such as increasing energy needs, depletion of water resources, and inefficient food production pose a major threat to sustainability. One of the most effective approaches that offer solutions to these problems is permaculture. Permaculture is a term derived from the expression "permanent culture", meaning "permanent culture", and refers to an approach that includes sustainable agriculture principles. This concept was developed by Australian ecologist and scientists Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the early 1970s. Permaculture adopts the idea of observing ecosystems in nature, examining the needs of plants and animals and what they offer to the environment, and applying the observed interactions to human settlements and agricultural areas, and aims to plan human settlements by taking inspiration from nature's self-organizing ability.