Impact of geographical size on the speed of public services and administrative supervision Türkiye’s Settlement Pattern and Population Dynamics (Supplementary Article 2)

Aydın Tiryaki (2026)

In the civil administration system of Türkiye, the surface area of provinces has a direct impact on the delivery speed of public services and supervision capacity. The difference between Konya, which has the largest surface area in Türkiye, and Yalova, which has the smallest, creates distinct challenges and opportunities in the implementation of decentralization models. These geographical extremes present very different logistical and cost profiles in delivering services to the citizen (1).

In provinces spread over a wide area like Konya, the greatest test for management is accessibility. In a structure where traveling from the city center to the farthest districts and neighborhoods takes hours, the on-site supervision power of civil administrative authorities and local governments is hindered by physical obstacles. Spreading basic infrastructure services such as road maintenance, security services, water, and sewage over such a vast geography both increases operational costs and extends response times. In provinces with large surface areas, the speed of service depends on the rational management of geographical distances (2).

On the other hand, in provinces with a small surface area like Yalova, administrative supervision and service speed are much higher. The narrowness of administrative borders allows public units to reach every point of the settlement in a short time and intervene instantly in local problems. However, this narrow area brings with it settlement and industrial pressure, making land-use planning much more critical. In small provinces, management deals not with distances, but with managing high requirements concentrated in a limited area (3).

This geographical asymmetry also shapes the guidance and oversight capacity of civil administrative authorities over local units. While touching every settlement physically in a large province creates a significant time cost, in provinces with narrow areas, management can establish a much tighter contact with the citizen and local dynamics. This situation shows that the use of digital supervision tools and the empowerment of decentralized management units are requirements in large provinces (4).

In conclusion, Türkiye’s settlement architecture must be strengthened with flexible models that take geographical scale differences into account. With the reality that administrative boundaries are not just lines but also service areas, it constitutes a necessity for each province to develop management strategies suitable for its own geographical reality for public efficiency (5).

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.

REFERENCES

(1) Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Interior, Inventory of Civil Administration Units and Geographical Analyses. https://www.icisleri.gov.tr

(2) Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (TBB), Service Access and Logistical Planning Report in Local Governments. https://www.tbb.gov.tr

(3) Tiryaki, A. (2026). Scale Problem and Administrative Uniformity (Article 8).

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

(5) OECD, Public Governance and Geographical Scale: Spatial Efficiency Analysis. https://www.oecd.org