Tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in Türkiye in the context of local service delivery paradigms

Abstract

Many researchers have investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cities and conducted studies in urban areas to understand the various response efforts. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on metropolitan municipalities in the context of the local service delivery paradigms. In this context, the study examined the activities carried out by the top five most populous provinces in Türkiye (Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, Konya, Kocaeli, Şanlıurfa, Adana) between 2020 and 2021 within the scope of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The data obtained on the activities of the metropolitan municipalities were evaluated through content analysis, and content coding was performed using the MAXQDA program. In the realization of these policies in Türkiye, despite the influence of many methods in the context of various service delivery administrations, such as local government, intergovernmental, local governance, e-municipality, and city diplomacy, it is seen that the directives of the central government are predominantly effective, and local governments do not use the cooperation method effectively.