The Position of the Local in Neoliberal Urban Government

Abstract

This study, which discusses the relationship between local and urban governance in the context of neoliberalism, emphasizes urban and local interactions in urban governance, and the opportunities and challenges that emerge from these interactions. Based on this emphasis, it aims to explain the importance of local governments in the transformation processes of neoliberal urban governance. The study argues that understanding urban restructuring within the complex and contested relationship between neoliberal urban governance and the dynamics of local rationalities requires more than examining macro-level policy changes or institutional reforms. At the same time, arguing on the basis of critical urban theory that attention should be paid to place-specific practices, institutional legacies and the interaction between local and urban scales, this study proposes a relational approach that foregrounds the importance of contextual specificity, discursive practices and the multiplicity of local actors and agendas. By reconsidering the local-urban nexus, the study emphasizes that localities are not merely passive recipients of neoliberal agendas, but also active sites of negotiation, adaptation and resistance. Through a qualitative analysis, the study examines urban governance; Against the backdrop of neoliberalization and globalization, the role of local governments is examined within the context of economic and political contexts and social and cultural dynamics. The study's findings highlight that the local is not merely shaped by top-down reforms, but is also actively constructed through the interplay of institutional structures and conjunctural contradictions, creating space for restructured and situated forms of action. This calls for a critical and context-sensitive analysis of local practices.

Keywords

• Neoliberal Urbanization
• Local Government
• Urban Government
• Space
• Locality

Neoliberal Kentsel Yönetimde Yerelin Konumu

Abstract

Neoliberalizm bağlamında yerel ile kentsel yönetim arasındaki ilişkiyi tartışan bu çalışma ile kentsel yönetimde kentsel ve yerel etkileşimler, bu etkileşimle ortaya çıkan fırsatlar ve zorluklar vurgulanmaktadır. Bu vurgu temelinde neoliberal kentsel yönetimin dönüşüm süreçlerinde yerel yönetimlerin öneminin açıklanması amaçlanmaktadır. Çalışma, neoliberal kentsel yönetim ile yerel rasyonalitelerin dinamikleri arasındaki karmaşık ve tartışmalı ilişki içerisinde kentlerin yeniden yapılandırılmasını anlamanın, makro düzeydeki politika değişimlerini veya kurumsal reformları incelemekten daha fazlasını gerektirdiğini savunmaktadır. Aynı zamanda yer-özgü uygulamalara, kurumsal miraslara ve yerel ve kentsel ölçekler arasındaki etkileşime dikkat edilmesini gerektiğini de eleştirel kentsel teori temelinde tartışan bu çalışma, bağlamsal özgüllüğün, söylemsel uygulamaların ve yerel aktörlerin ve gündemlerin çokluğunun önemini ön plana çıkaran ilişkisel bir yaklaşım önermektedir. Çalışma, yerel-kentsel bağlantıyı yeniden ele alarak, yerelliklerin yalnızca neoliberal gündemlerin pasif alıcıları olmadığını, aynı zamanda müzakere, adaptasyon ve direnişin aktif alanları olduğunu vurgulamaktadır. Nitel bir analizle çalışmada kent yönetimi; neoliberalleşme ve küreselleşme arka planında, yerel yönetimlerin rolü ekonomik ve politik bağlamlar, sosyal ve kültürel dinamikler ekseninde ele alınmaktadır. Çalışmanın bulguları, yerelin yalnızca tepeden inme reformlarla şekillendirilmediğini, aynı zamanda kurumsal yapıların ve konjonktürel çelişkilerin etkileşimiyle aktif olarak inşa edildiğini ve yeniden yapılandırılmış ve yerleşik eylem biçimlerine alan açtığını vurgulamaktadır. Bu durum, yerel uygulamaların eleştirel ve bağlama duyarlı bir analizini gerektirmektedir.

Keywords

• Neoliberal Kentleşme
• Yerel Yönetim
• Kentsel Yönetim
• Mekan
• Yerellik

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