ABSTRACT Urban growth and speculative housing development on rural areas, especially at urban fringes cause transformation of ownership relations, deterioration of traditional pattern and landscape character. The rapid increase of population in cities necessitates new hous- ing demands and this need is met by peripheral rural lands. This urban development process occurs as urban sprawl through rural areas. Karabaðlar is a traditional rural settle- ment in the vicinity of the town of Muðla and it is registered as third degree natural site. It carries unique vernacular features such as special outstanding landscape components, traditional houses that are part of the typical domestic architecture and ownership pattern that create the cultural heritage. The land-use character is based on agriculture. The mis- use of lands, new housing demands of urban residents and secondary housing related with urban growth in Karabaðlar resulted in urban pressure on the area. This situation put forth the necessity of ecological and cultural preservation of the lands of Karabaðlar settlement against housing speculation. The aim of this paper is to determine the pressure of the urban growth and construction of urban settlement on rural areas and degeneration of tra- ditional pattern in Muðla, Karabaðlar in a historical process. The requirement for preser- vation of rural, agricultural or natural lands, spatial layout and cultural heritage of Karabaðlar and sustainability is remarked. Keywords: Urban Growth, Cultural Heritage, Speculative Housing Development, Sus- tainability INTRODUCTION In spite of long urban development period, new housing demands and the need of urban development area, owing to the rapid increase of population has been the cause of a rapid urban growth and urban sprawl. Cities and towns spread into the 679 CHANGING RURAL CHARACTER RELATED TO URBAN GROWTH IN MUÐLA, KARABAÐLAR Feray Koca Faculty of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Turkey fkoca@metu.edu.tr