Public, private and civil society organization employees'perception of disaster-resilient cities: The case of Edirne province

Increasing risk factors around the world and in Türkiye highlight the importance of cities being resilient. This thesis aims to reveal the perception of disaster-resilient cities among employees of public, private, and civil society organizations in the context of Edirne Province. In line with the research objective, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 participants working in 36 organizations selected through maximum diversity sampling, based on qualitative research methods. The collected data were subjected to qualitative data analysis using the MAXQDA24 program. Among the main findings of the study, perceptions of disaster-resilient cities were identified in terms of possible disasters, the effects of disasters, areas that will be primarily affected, organizations that will provide assistance, and actions to be taken in the event of a disaster, within the scope of general criteria. In addition, the study identified the following actions that need to be taken in the administrative framework of perceptions of disaster-resilient cities: administrative framework, budget, multidimensional hazard analysis, infrastructure protection, critical service protection, land use considerations, education plans, environmental protection and ecosystem strengthening activities, communication process with the emergency management center, and reconstruction activities for the needs of the affected population. Although public, private, and civil society organization employees have a high level of awareness regarding disaster-resilient cities in relation to the cities they live in, it has been observed that addressing the lack of coordination in terms of implementation would be an important step toward achieving disasterresilient cities.