Urban Network, Regional Change and Regionalization Process in Turkey

Abstract

Since the 1950s, Turkey has experienced rapid urbanisation that produced a hierarchised network of urban centres, increasingly dominated by Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. Metropolitan and regional centres emerged, supported by administrative, commercial, health, and educational functions, creating de facto polarized regions. Although the State Planning Organization initiated several regional development plans, these did not establish political or territorial regions. Responding to European Union incentives, Turkey adopted NUTS 1 and NUTS 2 regional units in 2002 and established Regional Development Agencies at the NUTS 2 level. This paper analyses the criteria used to define these units and considers whether Development Agencies could represent a first step towards a broader regionalisation process in Turkey.