Abstract:

Having executive and fiscal autonomies, municipalities are public law corporations established primarily for fulfilling inhabitants’ and communities’ needs living within the borders of particular municipal setting. The decision-making bodies of the municipalities are constituted through election. Municipalities that execute social policies in a local level successfully are often explored through the concept of “social municipalism” in the literature. Municipalities with social municipalism orientations offer various social services and programs to manage and eliminate communities’ challenges pertaining to housing, education, health, poverty, unemployment and environment. Disadvantaged groups such as women, children, youth, elderlies and people with disabilities are especially given primary importance by the municipal administrations with social municipalism agendas. Significant developments can be observed in Turkey at recent times as far as social municipalism is considered. Hence, one of the main purposes of this study is to present social municipalism as a concept and showcase the best practices in this regard. Then, the study will move to demonstrate and analyze Manisa Metropolitan Municipality’s services that can be considered within the framework of social municipalism.

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