Local-regional development and governance: Case of Southern Adana development programme

Development is a multi-dimensional concept including primarily the social and economic aspects. Used generally as an economic term, development has been interpreted as a whole of positive improvements in terms of quality and quantity, and as an equivalent of growth and accumulation of capital. As states have started to give up central powers in order to enhance local and regional development, a new approach of administration has emerged, which extends from local to supranational associations. Governance, emerged as of 1980s, is a whole of multilateral, multi-actor, transparent, accountable and auditable processes in which private sector and non-governmental organisations are included in decision-making processes along with the state. Southern Adana Development Programme, initiated in March 2017, is a regional development programme claiming to meet both the goals of development and governance. This study aims at analysing development, principles, dynamics, action plan, and implementations of the Southern Adana Development Programme within the framework of local development and governance. It presents the network and partnership relations among the stakeholders, the basis and reflections of such partnerships on the field. The study then compares the Southern Adana Development Programme and project of Proposal for a Democratic Municipal Model for Izmir, carried out by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, publicly known as the Izmir Model, with reference to the development and governance aspects of those projects carried out by different actors. Key words: Development, Local Development, Regional Development, Governance, Adana, Southern Adana Development Programme.