Abstract:

Poverty is an important problem area that makes its impact felt in urban spaces with its changing and transforming structure. Especially intense waves of migration from rural to urban areas, excessive population growth, and changes in the labor market have increased the visibility of urban poverty. In this study, the distribution of urban poverty spaces on the Kilis sample and the basic dynamics that affect this distribution are discussed. The urban development process, migrations, and location preferences of the population constitute important factors in the distribution pattern of the poverty places. In the study, poverty rates were calculated using three types of datasets on the scale of Kilis city neighborhoods, and the findings were supported by tables and maps, and descriptive analysis was used. The dataset of the study, the distribution of the population according to education levels at the neighborhood scale of Turkstat, the farmer registration system data of the Kilis Chamber of Agriculture, and the number of families receiving fuel (coal) aid from the Kilis Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundation. Poverty rates were calculated by proportioning the obtained data to the neighborhood populations, and by transferring these data to maps, the spatial distribution pattern of urban poverty was obtained. The areas where urban poverty is high are the periphery neighborhoods located in the north and northeast of the city and the central neighborhoods where the Syrian immigrant population is concentrated. In the development process of the city of Kilis, it is seen that poverty has an increasing effect on the rate of urbanization, and in recent years, the city has developed horizontally and vertically with the pressure of overpopulation. In addition, it is seen that the urban elites tend to congregate in the newly established periphery neighborhoods. Especially in neighborhoods where poverty is dominant, there are unplanned urbanization, infrastructure problems, and environmental problems. Reducing poverty is important for a more balanced urbanization process. The ideal recipe for poverty would be to reduce unemployment, to provide good education opportunities, and to reduce informality.

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