NATIONAL SMART CITIES STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN: THE TURKEY’S SMART CITIES APPROACH

Abstract. Nowadays, cities need sustainable approaches that take care of the future in order to meet the needs that arise with population activity. Accordingly, for making cities more livable, the necessity of ensuring efficient use of urban sources and planning urban infrastructures brings the smart city concept into the forefront. The smart city solutions are frequently applied by many local governments and stakeholders. For this reason, there is a need to support the collaboration of all relevant actors and to provide a common national strategic perspective among smart city stakeholders. In the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, the objectives of smart cities and national geographic information services are determined as “to make infrastructure works in order to establish smart cities, to improve the spatial management in cities with the help of technology, to share data to improve public services and to be the focus of national geographical information” and studies on these objectives have been completed. Accordingly, the “2020–2023 National Smart Cities Strategy and Action Plan” has been prepared in order to establish a national strategic view on smart cities and draw a road map under the policy ownership of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. By the implementation of this strategy and action plan with the vision of "Livable and Sustainable Cities that Add Value to Life", a new process of transformation and change will be provided to cities that take care of the real needs of citizens, adopting participatory governance by using resources effectively.