1st Istanbul International Geography Congress Proceedings Book

EnglishTürkçe

CHAPTER


DOI :10.26650/PB/PS12.2019.002.011   IUP :10.26650/PB/PS12.2019.002.011    Full Text (PDF)

National and international sister city relationships of İstanbul: determinative factors and characteristics of spatial distribution

Arda Bay, Vedat Çalışkan

Sister city practices, comprising a municipality’s reciprocal relations, including collaborations and partnership initiatives, with another domestic or foreign municipality, provide a basis for the development of cultural and economic relations. Turkey has made significant progress in this field, with 3042 sister cities on a national and international scale. İstanbul’s municipalities, both the metropolitan as a whole and 39 district municipalities, have a remarkable position, qualitatively and quantitatively, with 553 national and international sister cities. This study examines İstanbul’s sister city relationship networks, evaluating the characteristics of the spatial distribution of sister cities on national and international scales and indicating the determinative factors for building sister city relations. To accomplish this, a 45-question survey was sent via email and postal mail to representatives of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and 39 district municipalities; in all, 23 municipalities responded. The responses were analyzed using SPSS, and tables, graphics, and maps were prepared using the data. The research findings indicated that the factors affecting the choice of İstanbul municipalities for national and international sister cities were historical and cultural ties and sharing of technology, information, and experience. Certain patterns were observed in the spatial distribution characteristics of both national and international sister city connections. The connections with Balkan countries were especially interesting for international sister city relations, and the Black Sea, Eastern Anatolian, and Southeastern Anatolian municipalities had a significantly high number of national sister cities.


Keywords: Sister city, İstanbul, Municipalities.

References

  • Akman, Ç. (2016). Evaluatıng The Current Sıtuatıon Vıa Town Twınnıng Practıces In Turkey. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi. Isparta. Sayı: CİEP Özel Sayısı. google scholar
  • ALDA (2013). Creativity and Innovation In Town-Twinning Activities In Europe and Southeastern Europe Project Results. Europe for Citizens Programme. google scholar
  • Bell-Souder, D., & Bredel, S. (2005). A Study of Sister City Relations. Professor Laurel Rasplica Rodd JPNS 490016, December 2005. google scholar
  • Clarke, N. (2011). Globalising Care? Town Twinning in Britain Since 1945. Geoforum. (42),115-125. google scholar
  • Cross, B. (2010). Sister Cities and Economic Development: A New Zealand Perspective. Transylvanian Review Of Administrative Sciences. No.30E. pp. 104-117. google scholar
  • Demirtaş, B. (2016). “Türkiye’de Yerel Yönetimlerin Dış İlişkilerinin Analizi: Merkez-Çevre Etkileşimini Yeniden Düşünmek”, Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 13, Sayı 52, 2016, s. 151-173. google scholar
  • Kinnicutt, S. (2014). Les Villes Jumelées: Finding Bowling Green a Francophone Sister City. A Capstone Experience/Thesis Project. Presented in google scholar
  • Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Arts with Honors College Graduate Distinction at Western Kentucky University. google scholar
  • Lloyd, B. T. (2010). Safe Sisters: limitations of Sister City Relationships for International Peace Building. University of Tasmania, School of Sociology and Social Work, Submitted in Fulfilment of The Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Tasmania. google scholar
  • Ogawa, A. (2012). Sister City As A Preservatıon Strategy. Graduate School of Architecture. Planning and Preservation Columbia University. google scholar
  • Oktay, T. (2014). Türkiye’deki Belediyelerin Türk Cumhuriyetleri ile Kardeş Şehir İlişkileri. Türk Dünyasında Yerel Yönetimlerin Sorunları, (Ed.:Deniz İşçioğlu). Ankara Nobel Yayın Dağıtım. google scholar
  • O’Toole, K. (2001). Kokusaika and Internationalisation: Australian and Japanese Sister City Type Relationships. Australian Journal of International Affairs. 55(3), 403-419. google scholar
  • Ramasamy, B., & Cremer, R.D. (1998). The Economic Role Of İnternational Sister-City Relationships Between New Zealand And Asia. Journal of The Asia Pacific Economy. 3(3),446-461. google scholar
  • Türkiye Belediyeler Birliği (TBB). (2012). Kardeş Şehirler Uluslararası Belediye İş birlikleri ve Birliğimizin Rolü. Aralık. (776), Ankara. google scholar
  • Zelinsky, W. (1991).The Twinning of the World: Sister Cities in Geographic and Historical Perspective. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 81(1), 1-31. google scholar


SHARE




Istanbul University Press aims to contribute to the dissemination of ever growing scientific knowledge through publication of high quality scientific journals and books in accordance with the international publishing standards and ethics. Istanbul University Press follows an open access, non-commercial, scholarly publishing.