Speaker
Description
This paper discusses the socio-economic and environmental deprivation patterns across provinces in Turkey by applying the English Index of Deprivation framework. In this study, data from TURKSTAT were used to assess disparities and determine the prime areas that need development interventions. The research underlines notable regional disparities by analyzing seven domains: income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers to housing and services, and the living environment, and provides a comprehensive deprivation map for Turkey.
This paper fits into the track on Postgrowth Urbanism, especially under the theme of envisioning cities and regions as integrated social-ecological systems. By applying the EID framework to Turkey, it contributes to the greater discourse on degrowth and equitable urban transformation. It challenges growth-oriented paradigms by calling for planning tools that would prioritize community needs, reduce environmental footprints, and nurture regenerative relationships between society and the environment.
This approach involves the translation of data from TURKSTAT into indicators defined by the EID, normalization, and categorization under component domains, followed by ranking using a multi-criteria weighted sum method. It thus offers a hands-on tool to policymakers, ensuring that decisions taken are based on evidence to stimulate fair development.
Results indicate striking contrasts between the most deprived southeastern provinces and the relatively less deprived far northwestern provinces. This disparity underlines the urgent need for an equitable resource distribution strategy in order to address structural inequalities. The research also emphasizes that one of the objectives of adopting a multidimensional approach in urban planning is to have growth metrics consider social equity and ecological balance.
The paper concludes by calling for the routine use of such analyses to facilitate competitive, sustainable, and equitable regional development. It highlights the transformative potential of deprivation analysis in guiding resource allocation, enhancing governance, and addressing social and ecological inequalities. The findings of this study provide a critical foundation for reimagining urban and regional planning in Turkey and beyond, contributing to global efforts toward eco-social integrity in a post-growth context.
References
Atkinson J, Salmond C, Crampton P (2014). The New Zealand Index of Deprivation 2013. University of Otago, Wellington.
Smith, T., Noble, M., Noble, S., Wright, G., McLennan, D., & Plunkett, E. (2015). The English indices of deprivation 2015. London: Department for Communities and Local Government.
Payne, R. A., & Abel, G. A. (2012). UK indices of multiple deprivation—a way to make comparisons across constituent countries easier. Health Stat Q, 53(22), 2015-2016.
TMMOB, (2017). Air Quality Statistics. Ankara, Turkey.
Turkstat, (2021). Prison Statistics. Publication No: 4358, Ankara, Turkey.
| Keywords | Deprivation analysis; Turkey; English Index of Deprivation; Postgrowth urbanism |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
