Self-sufficient City as Organizing Principle for Sustainable Development: Making Bozcaada a Self-sufficient and Sustainable Island

Abstract

Depopulation of small cities—mainly because of single sector economy and lack of attractiveness, vibrancy and joy—is an important issue we have to deal with. To deal with this and similar challenges, it is a need for an urbanism that uses the law of nature, advanced technologies, and self-organizing adaptive systems. Furthermore; while the earth is facing essential problems deriving from carbon emissions, lack of fresh water, pollution from agriculture etc., the ecological performance of cities is gaining attention as a critical issue. In these terms, the transition towards self-sustaining urbanity may help cities become more environmentally and human-friendly, as well as more attractive and better places to live in and worth to visits. Creating self-sufficient city models based on self-organizing adaptive systems and on inhabitants’ activities could be a response. These models would be society-based, complexity-led and landscape-driven. This paper, beside of aiming to elaborate the urban self-sufficiency concept by a multi-disciplinary perspective, also aims to explore and use the excising potentials of Bozcaada, which weren’t used till now particularly because of its tourism-oriented economy policies. With a total population of 3,000 inhabitants in 2019, and with a territory of 40 km2, Bozcaada Island is an extraordinary case study due to its low population and density, tourism-oriented economy and its external and internal geographical barriers (climate and hydrology). The paper aims to seek ways of transforming Bozcaada to a human and environmental friendly place with a multi-sectorial economy where people use to live in and visit it during the whole year. In these terms, evidence will be provided regarding to how the environmental concerns can become organizing principles in new urban strategies for achieving a sustainable development. It will elaborate the smart tourism as a potential tool for achieving a sustainable tourism development and protection of cultural heritage. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.