Administrative and social disconnects of units such as mezra, kom, and oba

Türkiye’s Settlement Pattern and Population Dynamics (Article 10)

Aydın Tiryaki (2026)

The settlement fabric of Türkiye consists of more than just cities and villages. In particular, the steep geography of the Eastern Anatolia, Southeastern Anatolia, and Black Sea regions has revealed a scattered structure called “sub-village settlements.” These units, known by names such as mezra (hamlet), kom, oba, ağıl, and yayla, are settlement points necessitated by economic activities, especially animal husbandry and agriculture (1). However, this fragmentation creates a serious scale problem in the management architecture that increases service delivery costs and creates social disconnects.

The most fundamental feature of these units is that they do not have an independent legal entity of their own. These small settlements, which are administratively attached to a village mukhtar’s office or a neighborhood in metropolitan areas, often remain “invisible” in the planning of public services. Providing roads, water, electricity, or internet to a mezra consisting of a few households creates a heavy burden on the public budget due to the distance from the center and the cost per household (2). This situation causes citizens living in these units to experience inequalities in accessing basic rights such as education and health.

The difficulties experienced in managing scattered settlements are not limited to infrastructure. The weakness of social supervision and the lack of representation of the central administration at these extreme points create a management gap. It constitutes a requirement to develop a special status for these scattered structures within the Rural Neighborhood and Urban Village definitions we proposed in our previous articles (3). For example, it could be a rational solution to combine sub-village units that are geographically close to each other with a “Service Cluster” logic or to apply special, portable public service models (such as mobile health and education units) to these units.

In conclusion, although fragmentation is a geographical fate in Türkiye’s settlement pattern, administrative disconnect should not be a fate. Instead of ignoring sub-village units or seeing them as mere “add-ons,” a new spatial planning that will protect the production capacity of these settlements but facilitate service access constitutes a necessity (4). The settlement architecture must be reconfigured with an efficiency focus that includes even the most remote citizen.

Aydın Tiryaki Ankara, January 12, 2026

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All ideas, opinions, and suggestions in this article belong to the author. During the process of writing the text, the artificial intelligence Gemini was utilized for writing assistance and information compilation.

ANNEXES

Annex A: Major Types of Sub-Village Settlements in Türkiye and Their Characteristics

• Mezra: A permanent settlement unit consisting of a few households where agriculture and animal husbandry are practiced.
• Kom: A temporary or permanent unit focusing on livestock, housing family and kinship communities.
• Oba: Tent settlements where families engaged in nomadic animal husbandry stay temporarily.
• Yayla (Highlands): Seasonal settlements visited in the summer months for cooling and animal husbandry.

Annex B: Service Delivery Challenges According to Settlement Units

• Geographical Obstacles: Road construction costs in mountainous terrain being 10 times higher than in centers.
• Population Dispersion: The difficulty of distributing energy and water to dozens of small points instead of a single service point.
• Education: Time and safety risks created by the mobile (bussed) education system in these scattered units.

REFERENCES

(1) Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Interior, Inventory of Civil Administrative Units and List of Settlement Places. https://www.icisleri.gov.tr

(2) Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), Population Data of Village and Sub-Village Settlement Units. https://www.tuik.gov.tr

(3) Tiryaki, A. (2026). From Village to Neighborhood: Just a Name Change? (Article 5 of the Series).

(4) General Directorate of Development Agencies, Rural Development and Spatial Planning Strategies. https://www.ka.gov.tr