1. POLS304 LOCAL GOVERNMENT & GOVERNANCE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND CITIES IN TURKEY

2. URBAN ADMINISTRATION IN TURKEY  Urban administration in Turkey can be analyzed and studied from 3 different aspects:  Central government and the city  Provincial organizations of central government  Local governments and city

3. INTRODUCTION  Westernization and modernization efforts have have direct and indirect effects on the political and cultural development in turkey  Foundation of the modern nation state and efforts to create citizens suitable for the new regime were the primary activity areas of the bureaucratic elitists who were in power.  Planning of the urban space has an important role in the shaping of new society in Turkey

4. INTRODUCTION  The history of urbanization in turkey beginning with the Republican era can be divided into 3 periods:  1923-1950 - Urbanization of the nation state  1950-1980 - Urbanization of labor  1980 onwards – Urbanization of the capital.  The most important identifier of urbanization is the move of the capital city from Istanbul to Ankara  The reason for the selection of Ankara as the capital city is not only choosing a “safe city” but also the wish for the government to break old ties with the former regime.

5. INTRODUCTION  Ottoman cities had aspect of semi-autonomous control by the central government, it also lack strong networks of transportations and cities were spatially separated on the basis of religious differences.  Nonetheless, the new regime wanted to unify the cities in terms of ethnicity and religion.  Homogenization process made the construction of the infrastructures of transportation and information necessary which would spread the new cultural and ideological codes of the new nation state.  Turkey was a country of agricultural, therefore measures which would prevent people from moving to urban areas tried to be taken.  During this period, the State realized the important changes on the careful planning of urban areas.  1n 1930s, Acts about municipalities, general hygiene, buildings and ways, carrying out of engineering and architecture professions were listed so that regulations related to urban areas were performed.

6. INTRODUCTION  1950-1980 period was the era when immigration from rural to urban areas increased because because of the reasons such as modernization in agriculture, increase in the number of tractors and equipment, decrease in the fertility of land etc..  This period can be characterized as rapid and unplanned urbanization, immigration, urban poverty and slum houses  Planned economy which occurred after 1960 caused industrialization to be accelerated and this resulted in urban pollution and intensive housing problems  Due to these problems, efforts were made by State Planning Organization (SPO) for a more constructive urban planning  However, priority of the State was on industrial investments rather than planned urbanization.

7. INTRODUCTION  With economic liberalization process in 1980, cities have gained importance because of the various functions they have.  Urbanization process after 1980 is characterized with organization practices of the capital and urban places due to neoliberal economic policies.  Infrastructure and superstructure investments of big agencies like Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKI) have been instrumental in the transformation process of urban spaces  Global city perception also played a dominant role in transformation of the cities

8. FRAMEWORK OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN TURKEY  The organization and functions of the administration in Turkey are based on the principles of centralization and decentralization  Article 126 of Turkey Constitution mentions provincial organization of central administrative structure. “Turkey is divided into provinces on the basis of geographical situation, economic conditions and public service requirements; provinces are further divided into lower levels of administrative districts”.  The administration of the provinces is based on the principle of devolution of powers.  Central administrative structure has provincial organizations besides its central (Capital) organization.  Central administrative units have initially been organized in capital city and organizations in capital city have duties, authorities and liabilities comprising the whole country.

9. FRAMEWORK OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN TURKEY  For example, President and Prime Ministers office, Ministries like Foreign Affairs, Court of Appeal and Council of State have no provincial organizations.  However, many of the other ministries have provincial (regional, city) organizations.  Provincial organizations perform the tasks of the ministries to which they are related.  In Turkey, the concept of provincial organization refers to all regional, city, district and sub-district administrations.

10. FRAMEWORK OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN TURKEY  Article 127 of Turkey’s Constitution is on local governments. According to this article, local governments have been defined as public corporate bodies established to meet the common local needs of the inhabitants of provinces, municipal districts and villages, whose principles of constitution and decision making bodies elected by the electorate determine by law.  Election for local governments are held for every five years. In the Constitution it is also mentioned that special administrative arrangements may be introduced by law for larger urban centers.  There are 3 separate local government unit  Special provincial administration functioning within whole of the province  Municipalities functioning within city centers and  Towns organized in rural areas

11. CAPITAL CITY (CENTRAL) ORGANIZATION OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION  Central administration in Turkey is divided into capital city units and provincial units.  Capital city units consist of President, Prime Minister and the Prime Minister’s office, Council of Ministers, ministers and ministries and other related organizations that assist all the relevant ministries  Besides the above mentioned bodies, there also exist other units such as Council of National Security, Council of State and Court of Appeals.  All these units make-up the central administration.  Central administration has the power and authority to determine policies in general and to determine urban politics.

12. CAPITAL CITY (CENTRAL) ORGANIZATION OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION  Centralism is the main characteristic of Turkish administrative system  When talking about the effects of capital city administration or provinces, the centralized administrative structure should also be kept in mind.  Centralism results in heavy influence of central administration on provinces and provincial administrations.

13. CAPITAL CITY (CENTRAL) ORGANIZATION OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION  This influence has 3 dimensions:  First, the central administration has the right and authority to determine the politics about cities within the limits of legislative rules  Sometimes it can also make a legal arrangement.  The second influence of central administration on cities is that central government is mostly the decision making and approval bodies of urban policies  Decision about cities may be taken by the central government  Some of the acts and proceedings like the establishment of unions of official provinces, districts, special provincial administration and municipalities are subject to the approval of central administration.

14. CAPITAL CITY (CENTRAL) ORGANIZATION OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION  The third influence of central government on cities is supervision.  There exist a hierarchy of supervision relation between central administration and provincial administrations.  There exist a tutelage supervision relation between central administration and municipalities  There is a tutelage supervision arranged legally and constitutionally both central government units and provincial and district governors who are extensions of the central government, have partial tutelage power on local governments.

15. PROVINCIAL EXTENSIONS OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIONS  Administrative division in Turkey is based on “province”  As a consequence Turkey has been divided into 81 provinces  Province is an administrative unit which consists of city center, districts and hundreds of towns.  As such provincial administration includes both urban administration and rural administration.  Thus, decision and execution bodies of all the provinces, serve both in rural and urban areas.

16. PROVINCIAL EXTENSIONS OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIONS  There are 3 administrative actors at the provincial administration system.  Governor  Directors of provincial organizations  Provincial administrative board  Head of the provincial administration is the Governor (Vali)  Governors are appointed by the government of Turkey  Governor is both an administrative and political actor

17. PROVINCIAL EXTENSIONS OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIONS  Again there exist a hierarchical relation between the governors and central administration.  The Prime Minister and other ministers are superior than governors  The Constitution states that the administration of the provinces is based on the principle of devolution of powers  Due to this principle, governors representing the state in provinces within area of authority and responsibility of the State in urban areas may take decisions and execute these decisions without consulting with central administration  Provinces are like micro phenomenon of the State