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Resilient Cities In Turkey For Sustainable
Economic Development

damage. The reaction to a shock is directly proportional to the resilience of a
city. It can be said that the resilience of a city is determined by the strength of
its economic and social dynamics.
This study evaluates the important contributions of resilient cities to
sustainable economic development. To this end, the first part of the study
explains the concepts of sustainable development, natural disasters and
resilience, and examines the importance of resilient cities. The last part of the
study the social and economic consequences of the recent natural disasters in
Türkiye that have affected a considerable part, referring to the costs that are
undertaken to compensate for the ensuing damage.

1. Sustainable Development

The concept of development have survived up to date with changes
in different periods in line with social development. Although it is used
synonymously with concepts such as growth, industrialization, advancement,
modernization, there is not a clear and certain concept of development in
the development and change processes of societies (Yavilioğlu, 2002: 60). It
is possible to say that development-related approaches started during the
Industrial Revolution. There have been investigations on how countries can
develop since then. With the Industrial Revolution, which emerged in the 18 th
century, suitable processes which gave way to systematic thoughts emerged
as to why and how economic development (Cypher and Dietz, 2004: 109).
At first, economic development focused on the sectoral conditions of
production and employment. Accordingly, people wanted to decrease the
sectoral share of agriculture and manufacturing, and to increase the market
share of manufacturing and service sector. Today, developmental processes
have taken a different turn to involve non-economic, social indicators such
as education, health, and accommodation opportunities (Todaro, 2000: 14).
Especially after the 1990s, a new sense of development involving environmental
issues has emerged. Serious social problems such as natural disasters, disruption
of ecological balance, the increase in infectious diseases have led to the focus
on the sustainability of development as well. In the sense of development
which centers about humans, as well as economic growth the increase in the life
quality and improvements in standards of living were prioritized.
Contemporary development approaches are based on a structure that
not only protects ecosystems, but also culture and natural assets as well as a
sense of sustainable development. In the sustainable development approach,
“sustainability” is emphasized. The relevant theme is used as common ground
for countries for their economic and social development goals. In line with

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