Deprivation Analysis in Declining Inner City Residential Areas: A Case Study From Izmir, Turkey.

Table 30: The Education Status of Research Population by Age Groups

Finally, during the field research, the satisfaction of the parents from school conditions is investigated.
Since there is not a school within the district, the children are dispersed five different schools at the nearby
surrounding. According to the findings, 46 percent of the families, which have children attending school, are
satisfied with the school, while 12.3 percent are not. Similarly, 46.2 percent of the households state that
there is not any problem at the school such as fighting or troubles generally.

CONCLUSIONS

The phenomenon of urban decline is relatively new for Turkey and other developing countries as
compared to the developed ones. This is the main reason of the limited studies examining this issue in
Turkey. On the other hand, developed countries have been discussing the phenomenon of urban decline
since the first outcomes of industrialization appeared. Industrial capitalism had transformed both social and
spatial structures of cities seriously. One of the most striking examples of this transformation is the spatial,
social and economic polarization of wealthy and poor. Capitalism, by its nature, is the reason of a
development of some spatial units, while, at the same time, it would be the reason of underdevelopment of
others. Regarding the process of urbanization in Turkish metropolitan cities, the patterns of uneven
development have become more evident as well. In particular, izmir shows the signs of unevenness in urban
areas as growing parts along the main road axes on the one hand, and declining parts located at the center, on
the other.

Tuzcu District, as one of the residential districts that located at the central parts, was analyzed in this
study in view of demonstrating this dual structure in izmir, at least on the part of declining areas. In order to
analyze the declining structure of the district, “deprivation measurement” is used. The general deprivation
index comprises of two fundamental sections: social deprivation and material deprivation. Social
deprivation includes the indicators such as employment, family activity, integration, participation in social
institution, recreation, and education. On the other hand, material deprivation includes the indicators such as
dietary, clothing, housing, home facilities, environment, location, and working conditions. Therefore, the
variables, which were defined according to these material and social indicators, were searched within the
district; and, in turn, the results were classified within this framework. Finally, the results of the analysis
are evaluated by several key points, which are defined as the common features of inner city declining areas
in developed countries. So, it can be understood that which features of declining areas in Turkey are similar
to the developed countries, and which are different in the case of Tuzcu District. The common features of
declining areas in developed countries are defined as follows: Poverty- unemployment- segregation,
Decline of physical environment, Disinvestments and economic decline, Changing land uses, Decline of
public education, Decline of public health. Depending on the analysis of the deprivation level of the district,

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