Abstract:

In this study, the differences in the perception of “autonomy” concept among the metropolitan municipality councilors whose authorities and jurisdictions have been increased with the recent amendments in the Metropolitan Municipalities Law are investigated. The sample of the research is selected among the Municipal Councilors in the Metropolitan Municipalities of Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa Provinces of Turkey. It is observed that although said provinces are neighbors as for their geographical locations, their socioeconomic development levels differ substantially. According to the general findings of the study, it is observed that the Şanlıurfa Municipality sample of which the economy is mainly dependent on agriculture, tend to defend autonomy significantly more than the Gaziantep Municipality sample of which the economy substantially depends of industry. The former responded that the local administrations (municipalities) should be rendered more autonomy when compared to the response of the latter. It is observed that the factor that affected the attitudes and evaluations of the Municipal Councilors are not the economic factors but the social and political factors as the independent variable of the study

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