Quality of life in medium-sized cities: the Erzincan example

The urban problems that have emerged alongside the urbanization process and are becoming increasingly diverse have varying effects on quality of life depending on the scale of the city. While large-scale cities offer significant advantages such as economic opportunities and a wide range of educational and healthcare services, they also bring with them disadvantages such as heavy traffic, environmental pressures, a high cost of living, and social unrest. In contrast, there is a perception that medium- and small-scale cities offer a more peaceful, safe, and nature-friendly lifestyle, leading to a higher quality of life for individuals. However, this study evaluates whether this assumption holds true in all cases using the example of the city center of Erzincan. The case of Erzincan’s city center demonstrates that, despite the potential advantages of medium-sized cities, the perception of quality of life may not reach the expected level if local and public services are inadequate. The findings indicate that quality of life depends not only on the physical environment but also on economic opportunities and the quality of public services. The Erzincan example highlights that as long as medium-sized cities cannot overcome their own structural problems and dilemmas, they will be unable to achieve the expected level of perceived quality of life, thereby emphasizing that the relationship between city scale and quality of life is more complex.