Abstract:

Abstract enThe origin of “City Councils” is the “Agenda 21” action programme which was signed at United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Local Agenda 21 (LA21) is the project of developing local governance and local democracy that is being performed in protecting environment and promoting economic and life quality by providing Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) to get into decision making process in local governments. Local Agenda 21 has an important place in strengthening local governments and developing local democracy. By the time passes, in Turkey, local govenments’ representatives, women and youth groups, NGOs and representatives of business world have come together and established City Councils in the cities where Local Agenda 21 is carried out. City Councils are structures in which city problems are established, discussed, and solutions are submitted and reconciliation is gained with the common sense of central government, local government, vocational foundations, private sector and NGOs. So, one of the way of institutionalization of local democracy depends on city councils’ functionality. The pupose of this study is to discuss functionality and sustainability of Kadıköy City Council from the perpective of whether their decisions are discussed and implemented by the parliament of city local government. The content of the study is limited by explicating functionality and sustainability of city councils by having the example of Kadıköy City Council

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