Socio-cultural and economic quality of life analiysis of mountainous area residents within the scope of regional development: The case of İzmir - Nif Mountain

Mountainous areas hosting many natural and human resources all over the world are also places where there are widespread poverty and low living standards. The administration has been unconcerned about the problems seen also in the mountainous areas in Turkey and has neglected these araeas which have strategic significance. In addition, mountainous settlements have not been examined in terms of management and planning in almost all academic researches. In order to reveal and remove this deficiency; İzmir – Mountain Nif was chosen as research area in terms of contributing to determination of living standarts of the mountainous settlements in Turkey and making administrative decisions related to the solutions of existing problems. In this research, it is aimed to increase the welfare level of Nif Mountain residents and also determine the policies and strategies within the scope of regional development by identify the problem areas. For this purpose, surveys with 390 people in 8 neighborhoods were conducted; besides, the findings of the survey were supported with interwievs and observations. According to the research results, it was found that the problems such as poverty, unemployment, low quality of life and lack of public services stated in the literature for mountainous areas are also valid for the research area. In this context, it is emphasized that the development of mountainous settlements that constitute a homogeneous region in terms of their qualifications, will be provided with regional development policies based on internal (local) potentials. The mobilization of the local potentials will make significant contributions to improve the socio-cultural and economic quality of life of residents and to remove regional imbalances. Finally, it is thought that a rational management unit to be established in line with the philosophy of governance and active participation will be needed in order to provide services for mountainous settlements effectively and efficiently.