The first application for a "Rural Neighborhood" in Turkey was submitted in Alanya

With the introduction of the Metropolitan Municipality Law, the "Unified City System," implemented since 2014, was revised in 2021 due to its negative effects on rural life.

Under the new law, neighborhoods that previously had village status were granted the right to become "Rural Neighborhoods." In Alanya, a Neighborhood Headman submitted the first application to the Alanya Municipality to take advantage of this right.

HOCALAR NEIGHBORHOOD WANTS ITS OLD STATUS BACK

Saadet Arıcan, the headman of Hocalar Village, located 33 kilometers from Alanya's center with a population of 503, wrote a petition and submitted her application to the Alanya Municipality.

Arıcan emphasized the importance of the advantages granted to rural neighborhoods:

“We want to benefit from this right, which is in favor of the residents of our neighborhood with low income. It offers many advantages in agriculture and livestock farming. There are also significant benefits in terms of taxes, water supply, and other municipal services. Previously, there were doubts such as 'Will the municipality serve us?' but we will continue to receive all kinds of services both from Alanya Municipality and Antalya Metropolitan Municipality. We will simply not be in the same category as neighborhoods in the city center. Rural life will continue as before. We are the first neighborhood in Alanya to apply. If our application is accepted, we will be very happy”.

68 VILLAGES IN ALANYA WERE CONVERTED INTO NEIGHBORHOODS

In Alanya, there are a total of 102 neighborhoods, 68 of which previously had village status. As is known, in 2014, with the new Metropolitan Municipality Law, township municipalities were closed, and villages were converted into neighborhoods. Agriculture and livestock farming in rural areas were negatively affected by this law, and under the provisions of Article 3 of the additional regulations of Law No. 5216 on Metropolitan Municipalities, the Ministry prepared the Regulation on Rural Neighborhoods and Rural Residential Areas, which was published in the Official Gazette No. 31455 on April 15, 2021, and came into effect.