Akif Sag - input2012

The importance of the city region

approach for the governance of

metropolitan areas: the case study

of Antalya (Turkey) city region

by Mehmet Akif Sag

Research Assistant, Selcuk University, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of City and

Regional Planning, Konya, Turkey

e.mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

• With city region, generally an area is defined which contains the whole of economic activities tightly bond to each other.

• While on the one hand city region is being the most distinct environment of the space of the most distinct environment of the space of the globalization process on the other hand it stands against the content of the globalization that goes beyond the borders.

• When the concept is defined in its own inner integrity, it limits the argument of non-existence of national borders with the region content.

INTRODUCTION

• Urban space is defined not as a sole city but as a region comprising many settlements inside. When dependence of the satellite towns of the metropolitan city, which consists of industrial areas settled out of the center due to the fordistproduction type, to the center is taken into areas settled out of the center due to the fordistproduction type, to the center is taken into consideration, that the settlements in the city regions emerge as settlements adequate for themselves and that direct their relations without the need of a central city, forms its conceptual difference.

INTRODUCTION

• When predictions regarding that within the coming few decades 3 of every 4 countries whose population will exceed 10 millions will take place among developing countries are taken into account, it is another issue to discuss to what extent accumulations in these countries can be account, it is another issue to discuss to what extent accumulations in these countries can be regulated with the city region concept. With other words, whether it is possible to make an original city region definition special to them that can be used to explain the accumulations in these countries.

Neo-Liberal Structuring and Its Effects

on Urban Government

• Welfare state, a product of the restructuring

process at the end of the Second World War,

in order to get rid of the financial crisis it has

entered into a comprehensive transformation entered into a comprehensive transformation

with economic, social, political and

governmental policies of the new right which

is the discourse of the neo-liberal policies in

the political field in first half of the 1970’s.


on Urban Government

• With the economic restructuring process of the 80’s as well, besides the developments the local potential and effects created in the economy discipline, local governments (especially in the developed western countries) started to gain economic and social sovereignty in such a level as developed western countries) started to gain economic and social sovereignty in such a level as to remind old city states. Sovereignties gained by the cities firstly brought the competition concept and a competition started between the cities especially to draw investments and capital flows taking place in the globalization process.


on Urban Government

• Urban governments, with this new process started restructuring in line with structures composed of new coalitions including capital groups and governance concept. In this context, two basic changes in the urban space are spoken: The first one is that local governments leaving two basic changes in the urban space are spoken: The first one is that local governments leaving function of reproduction of labor and takes the reproduction of the capital and the second one is that the local, with a competitive city model engages in more paradigmatic relations with national state and in international area.

New Spatial Concepts

• Parallel to this transformation in economic order there appear conceptual changes in urban area relations system as well. Especially to explain new orders of large cities and their sprawl process; it is found that Camagni and Salone (1993) tried to conceptualize as City Networks, Batten (1995) as Network Cities, Dieleman and Faludi (1998) as Network Cities, Dieleman and Faludi (1998) as Polynucleated Metropolitan Regions and Westin and Osthol (1994) as Multicore City-regions. In all these studies, it is researched how cities extend according to new capital movements and what kind of a distribution among their functions they form a basis to.

New Spatial Concepts

• Especially in European countries it is seen that multi-centered city regions are subject of discussion over the concept of ‘urban networks’ in Belgium, ‘polycentric national centres’ in Denmark, ‘urban networks’ in Estonia, ‘networks of cities’ (réseaux des villes) in France, ‘metropolitan regions’ (metropolregionen) and ‘urban networks’ (Städtenetze) in Germany, ‘twin poles’ in Greece, ‘linked gateways’ in Ireland, ‘Metropolis Vilnius–Kaunas’ in Litvania, ‘urban networks’ in Holland, ‘duopols’ Kaunas’ in Litvania, ‘urban networks’ in Holland, ‘duopols’ in Poland and ‘networked urban system’ (vernetzteStädtesystem) in Switzerland.

• In all these countries the issue of what kind of a government model needs to be taken with the most right conceptual framework regarding the growing and sprawling cities is directing planning policies.

New Spatial Concepts• In Turkey, recent years, an effort to make large

cities population of which are increasing with a great speed attractive in respect of capital movements is observed. Especially it is made a basic purpose to develop the cities and make them gain competitive advantage by providing suitable conditions to investing companies through privatization of public fields. through privatization of public fields.

• This situation causes to get out of the decisions set forth in urban plan schemas and to put plan amendments continuously in agenda which has become a frequently applied method. Out of plan developments cause cities to extend and settlements with different administrative borders to intertwine with one another.

Antalya City Region Borders

• Antalya with its functions loaded to it in regional and urban respects in the process of last 25 years with the entering into effect of Tourism Incentive Law has become the main region in Turkey in which Tourism policies are applied. The city, gaining specialization in this sector rapidly is leading a rapid way towards having a property of leading a rapid way towards having a property of an international metropolitan center united with the world which tends to rapidly integrate with contemporary world.

• Figure 1 below shows current main borders of Antalya.


Antalya Metropoliten Municipality Border

Antalya Province Border

Town Municipality Borders

Mediterranean Sea

Antalya City Region Borders• That Antalya being the leading city in Turkey’s tourism sector,

makes it a need to take the city within tendency of contemporary planning and to determine regional development policies in a most efficient way. In giving politics decisions preparing only physical and implementation based zoning studies will leave the city undefended against speculative approaches. In current local government system, location, conformity with top policies, distribution of land use types and description and direction of areas subject to lower types and description and direction of areas subject to lower scaled planning, in every settlement within the city region bear the risk of facing the threat of inconsistent or uniform approaches. Consequently, such type of a government model is seen as an important disadvantage in reaching synergy environment that can be achieved in important economic regions like Antalya.

• Figure 2 below shows current main arterial roads of Antalya. Continuity in the coastal band shows the corridor effect of the sea.


Fig. 2 - Current Main Arterial Roads of Antalya


• In Figure 3, you can see points where Tourism

Facilities are accumulated. The effect of

coastal tourism passes beyond Antalya

metropolitan border and continues metropolitan border and continues

uninterruptedly on the coast corridor.


Mediterranean Sea

Fig. 3 - Tourism Facilities.


In Figure 4, the drawing between the coastal band settlements is shown

by arrows indicating extending directions of the settlements.

Mediterranean Sea

Fig. 4 - The Coastal Band Settlements.


• Nearly all of the settlements along the coastal

band are left under the effect of Antalya

Metropolitan City, but this tourism corridor is

tried to be governed by local government

units of tens of different settlements. A region

that features continuity in respects of nature that features continuity in respects of nature

and economy needs to be defined as Antalya

city region and the requirement of a top

government model suitable to this structure is

clear.

The Need to Restructure the

Government in City Region • Planning discussion made over the spatial organization

of changing relations between settlements in city region makes it seen that in fact there is a shortage of an institutional structure developed regarding this situation. Although relations between settlements, for a rather long period, have been explained according to a rather long period, have been explained according to Christaller’s hierarchy model, as in the case of Antalya it is seen compulsory to take it on an institutional level in the explanation of new spatial organization of more horizontal network relations. This new spatial organization type is generally referred to as urban network structuring in literature.


Government in City Region

• Network concept is used in a strong relation with synergy concept. Synergy concept, with its best known meaning, is functioning together of two or more things to produce a result not independently obtainable. In Antalya city region, it clear that synergy can be achieved by taking independently obtainable. In Antalya city region, it clear that synergy can be achieved by taking every settlement especially tourism movement in coastal line as together but not in their own administrative borders. However, in Antalya according to the observations over relations between public institutions, it can be said that the relations between public institutions are very weak and only at a pious plane.


Government in City Region

• Analyses we have made show that urban

network structure development in city region

can be useful in respect of synergy creation as

horizontal networks. Relations between horizontal networks. Relations between

settlements, it must be taken as synergy

mechanisms. Planning this mechanism with

multi-level governance is seen as the best

choice.

Conclusion: What is required for an

organization model suitable to this structure?

• As can be observed from the arguments above, the most important issue in organization model suitable to city region structure is the ability to form a common decision between actors with different quality, expectation and view. Globalization process which is the agenda since the beginning of 1980’s change of the the agenda since the beginning of 1980’s change of the role of the state with the economic depression globalization brings, reorganization of nation states, tries to localize the government structure by weakening central decision system are among the issues that are discussed mostly in the last twenty years. Within this framework, changing structure of the government is defined as transition from government to governance.



• The most important one of the main elements

of governance is the formation of politics

networks. In European countries, politics networks. In European countries, politics

networks which gained importance after 1980

today are becoming institutions feeding

decision processes participants of which take

equal duties.



• There is no implementation chance of

decisions made under the domination of

central or local authorities. For this reason in

realizing multi-actor and multi-level decision realizing multi-actor and multi-level decision

processes although there are many hardships

rising out of current deficiencies, it is seen

that there is no other solution than

establishing infrastructure of these processes

and rising awareness among individuals.

… … ThankThank YouYou VeryVery MuchMuch……

Akif Sag - input2012

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