Globalization and the mid-rank city: The case of Adana, Turkey

Abstract

In this paper, the urbanization processes in a mid-scale city of a developing country are explored in the context of a changing economic and social structure and the weakening role of the nation state, due to the global transformation of the economic order. It is targeted to suggest a framework of institutional reformist tools to overcome these urban problems. While the metropolises are located in the relatively developed parts of Turkey as the consequence of an unbalanced development pattern, the mid-scale cities are scattered all around the country, assuming different functions in different sub-national regions. Adana is located at the interface of the developed and the relatively underdeveloped regions of Turkey and has experienced rapid urbanization as the natural target of migration flows. It has evolved into a city with urban problems, paying the cost of macro-economic imbalances. While local government tries to cope with the challenging dynamics with its insufficient resources, the central government refrains from establishing a proper institutional network to coordinate the decision making process. Based on the case of Adana, it is suggested that the nation state should assume an oscillating regulative role to cope with the varying developmental capacities of mid-scale cities in the developing countries, and institutional tools to facilitate this role should be developed. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.