The coast along an urban area, when it is healthy, can play a role in the city, affecting the urban identity, enriching the visual aspects of life there, and overall affecting the quality of life in a positive way. Management and planning recommendations for the coast of Cide are presented. Cide is feeling the effects of rapid changes in land use. Studies conducted with geographic information systems (GISs) in order to analyze this process have shown that the natural structure of the user area of a coast changes over time. In particular, change manifests itself in an increase in construction, forests, and people living there. As for coastal planning, research priorities in the Cide coastal area, including some external environmental factors such as the social and economic factors affecting coastal development, were investigated. A method based on land use classification has been developed in the GIS environment. The data were supported by surveys conducted with residents. Based on the GIS results, Cide’s valuable agricultural land in coastal sand dune fields and forests have been determined; that the dominant type of land use in the study includes 3,336 ha of forest, accounting for 74% of the total area.

The use of open source software, which has been constantly evolving since the mid-2000s, has affected every research discipline. Disciplines using geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) data have been heavily affected owing to this evolution of technology. Researchers working on these data sets have begun to use open source software intensively. The analysis and visualization of spatial data with the help of open source software has caused the emergence of new different features, which are cost effective and editable by other users. In this study, eight sample points have been used for the analysis of water quality in the Mamasın dam in the 2209/A group project of “Assessment and Modeling with GIS and RS Data of the Land Use Effects on Water Quality of Mamasın Dam” supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) under its program to support graduate students. While visualizing spatial features of the points, QGIS Desktop 2.18.0 and Studio programs with open source code have been used. The RStudio program is an open source software that allows the use of the functions of the R programming language. This study is an ideal application for spatial analysis studies with the R programming language. The sample points used in the study were analyzed in the laboratories of Department of Environmental Engineering, Aksaray University. Spatial properties of the analyzed data were examined by coding in the Studio program that is free open source software. In the analysis process, first, the libraries, Leaflet(), Leaflet.extras(), rgdal(), sp(), raster(), and magrittr(), which are used in the study, have been uploaded. With the help of these libraries, the locations of the sample points are transferred to the OpenStreetMap using latitudes and longitudes of the geographic coordinate system as base map. The pH, conductivity, PO₄-P, PO₄, dissolved oxygen, and temperature information of each sample points are assigned to the variables. These variables are added as a feature for each point. The spatial characteristics of the sample points are visualized using the data variable packages and online maps as the base. After the visualization process is completed, the generated map is presented on the website created via Github.

Kayseri, a densely urbanized province in Türkiye, grapples with pressing challenges of air pollution and limited green spaces, accentuating the need for strategic urban planning. This study, utilizing Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellite imagery, investigates the evolution of land surface temperatures (LST) and urban heat island (UHI) effects in key districts—Kocasinan, Melikgazi, Talas, and Hacılar—between 2013 and 2022. This research has been complemented with an analysis of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI), exploring correlations among the LST, UHI, NDVI, and NDBI changes. The findings indicate that a significant portion (65% and 88%) of the study area remained unchanged with respect to the NDVI and NDBI differences. This research’s findings reveal that a substantial portion (65% and 88%) of the study area exhibited consistency in the NDVI and NDBI. Noteworthy increases in the NDVI were observed in 20% of the region, while only 4% exhibited higher NDBI. Strikingly, the UHI displayed strong negative correlations with the NDVI and robust positive correlations with the NDBI. The LST changes demonstrated a reduced temperature range, from 21 to 51 °C in 2013, to 18 to 40 °C in 2022. Localized environmental factors, notably at the National Garden site, showcased the most significant temperature variations. Notably, the UHI exhibited strong negative correlations with the NDVI and strong positive correlations with the NDBI. The study’s results emphasize the interplay among the NDBI, LST, and UHI and an inverse relationship with the NDVI and NDBI, LST, and UHI. These findings hold implications for urban planning and policymaking, particularly in the context of resilient and sustainable land use planning and the UHI mitigation. This research underscores the intricate interplay among the NDBI, LST, and UHI, highlighting an inverse relationship with the NDVI. These findings hold crucial implications for resilient and sustainable urban planning, particularly in mitigating the UHI effects. Despite limited vacant spaces in Kayseri, geospatial techniques for identifying potential green spaces can facilitate swift UHI mitigation measures. Acknowledging Kayseri’s complex dynamics, future research should delve into the UHI responses to urban morphology and design, extending this methodology to analyze the UHI effects in other Turkish cities. This research contributes to a broader understanding of UHI dynamics and sustainable urban planning practices, offering valuable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and researchers alike.