The effect of Istanbul Development Agency grant support on access of the disabled to public services: Key of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

After the end of the Second World War, the concept of development and regional development played an important role in determining the economic development level of the countries. With the increasing importance of the concept of regional development, the needs, potential, and expectations of the region have been ignored. Development plans, which have been realized since that date, have been replaced by regional development plans that aim to maximize the potential of the region and minimize the level of interregional development. Regional Development Agencies are also examples of preparing regional development plans, implementing these plans, and successfully implementing regional development by ensuring coordination among the actors in the region. Turkey's EU full membership negotiations with one of the Regional Development Agency began operating under the Istanbul Development Agency, local, public, private sector and civil society acting together with organizations Istanbul's economic development and regional populations have provided supports various projects to raise living standards. In this thesis, the definition of the Regional Development Agencies, its historical development, the administrative, financial structure and support types of the Istanbul Development Agency were examined, and the institutional structure of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality was examined, and the services of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality for disabled people were discussed. The projects realized by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality with the grant of the Istanbul Development Agency for individuals with disabilities were examined. In the last part of the thesis, the awareness, functionality, and the contribution to urban and human life of these projects were investigated with online surveys. Key Words: Istanbul Development Agency, Istanbul, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Disabled, Grant, Development, Regional Development