Effects of globalization transform the forms of relations between settlements and it also changed the relations between capital and labor. In this global era performances of individual settlements became crucial in the absence of old hierarchic boundaries. But individual performances of settlements are not enough to integrate the global system. A New type of spatial organization appeared which is called networking to enhance complementary and cooperative relations crucial for synergy. The spatial reflexions of this transformation process are city regions. This study aims to determine the factors affecting economic performance and networking patterns of settlements in Antalya Region with the use of quantitative research methods.

The main purpose of this study is to determine the problems of thermal tourism as a kind of alternative tourism in Turkey investigating within the context of legislative-organizational aspects and planning dimensions. The study is also submitting some suggestions about solutions. After the announcement of the conceptual framework related with thermal tourism, the research provides general information about the countries important for thermal tourism sector in the global world. The study examines the planning process and the organizational structure related to thermal tourism sector showing two different tendencies in Heviz in Hungary and Peninsula Hot Springs in Australia in order to investigate different aspects of the development of thermal tourism in detail. Then / the thesis handles the development of thermal tourism in Turkey and it also describes the reasons of the underdevelopment of thermal tourism in respect of legislative-organizational aspects and planning dimensions in Turkey. Finally, in the last chapter / assessments carried out by examining the current situation in Nevsehir Kozakli Thermal Tourism Center and suggestions for solving the problems in practice are offered. In conclusion, this study offers some suggestions about the improvement of thermal tourism in Turkey in legislative-organizational and spatial aspects.

Tourism and local economic development are closely linked. Tourism can have a constructive effect on local economy and may help balance some of the inequalities between different parts of a country. Thus, in many regions in the world, the tourism sector is accepted as one of the greatest sources of economic growth and job creation. In line with economic contribution of the sector, tourism policy has become an instrument for territorial development and for enhancing an area&rsquo / s opportunities. It appears that tourism in Turkey, which is a tourism country, developed rapidly especially after the 1980s and gained important competitive advantage in international tourism market by using her mass tourism (sea, sand, sun) potential well. In addition to mass tourism, Turkey also has a significant potential for alternative tourism in different regions. Although Turkey takes important tourism share in the world, in terms of tourism revenues and arrivals, it is not sufficient considering the potential. It is obvious that alternative tourism potential is not fully explored due to some obstacle faced in the tourism sector. Insufficient commercialization of natural resources such as geothermal, lack of adequate infrastructure for diversification and geographical expansion, lack of effective promotion and marketing activities are some of these obstacles. Particularly, having rich geothermal resources, thermal tourism has come to the fore as a type of alternative tourism in Turkey. Thermal tourism is a significant tourism type, which helps to improve people&rsquo / s health condition by providing a complementary therapy and also allows many recreational activities for the visitors. The aim of this thesis is to point out the crucial position of geothermal resources in the context of thermal tourism for their contribution to local economic development. In this context, the first chapter introduces the main aim and the research questions of the thesis and second chapter mentions the importance of tourism for local economic development. The third chapter explains importance of thermal tourism, which is given priority in the diversification of alternative tourism policy in Turkey, is discussed. Within this context, the thermal tourism policies determined by the 2023 Turkey Tourism Strategy and Thermal Tourism Master Plan are investigated as the main local economic development tool of regions, which are all rich in geothermal resources. In the fourth chapter, the direct and indirect economic effects of tourism considering the multiplier effect of tourist spending. The methodology selected for the case study, is mentioned in the fifth chapter. Finally, as a case study Termal District of Yalova will be analyzed in terms of employment data as well as investments in these regions in detail in order to understand the economic importance of thermal tourism at local and regional levels in the context of Thermal Tourism Master Plan.

The aim of this thesis is to unveil the cognitive architecture of an industrial cluster by drawing on the roles of the labor mobility in particular as a mechanism of knowledge transmission and in general as a kind of social glue that holds together small production communities operative within a given territory. To what extent innovations occur in connection with labor mobility is one of the primary concerns of this thesis in accordance with its central role as a mechanism of knowledge spillover. In an effort to draw the wider theoretical framework within which knowledge spillover effects of labor mobility can be placed, this thesis firstly unveils the debates revolving around the increasing importance ascribed to (tacit) knowledge in (regional) economic development and the historical evolution of labor mobility studies. This thesis not only draws on but also develops a wide range of analytical tools designated for the particular needs of the questions addressed. The empirical dimension of this thesis is explored by employing a telescoping of view of both spatial and sectoral coverage. In this context, this thesis does not only attempt to grasp the small production communities operative in a socio-spatial system and to compare the innovation capacities of the respective communities by drawing on the contexts of labor mobility but also justifies the designation of the case study area and sectors in a detailed way. The method employed in the thesis is rather a holistic effort with regard to conceptualization of social, historical, economical and spatial processes.

Restructuring processes provide key dynamics for the development and transformation of industrial structures. Industrial restructuring can be conceptualized by product and/or process innovations including technological improvements and relocation of industry. Such forms of transformation can be investigated by a critical examination of industrial relations. This thesis is motivated from such a consideration of understanding and interpreting industrial transformation in a specific time and space setting. Textile and garment industry is a good case to explore the abovementioned concepts. Firstly global and national dimensions of industry are investigated. It is understood that quota free regulations of trade and relocation of production have been shaping a fierce global competition by which employment, supply and marketing relations change dramatically at the world scale. In such new competitive conditions Turkish textile and garment industry has been losing its growth dynamics in terms of price competition advantage. Secondly Denizli case is investigated. In-depth interviews with firms, related chambers and unions are made during field survey. Thesis argued that Denizli has locked to a passive exporter role. In this lock-in process, the sector could not transform itself by innovative modes of restructuring. The passive exporter role disables region to adopt innovative product strategies and to shift production to other regions where cost cutting opportunities are provided. Industrialists decrease production costs informally including employment unregistered workers. However although survey results point out locked industrial dynamics, Denizli region still have the potential of regional development thanks to its entrepreneurial sprit and rising other economic sectors.

The aim of the thesis is to examine the Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) Planning that is recognized as the most appropriate approach in the international arena for the wise-use and sustainability of water resources. In this framework, the thesis has been organized in two major parts: Theoretical framework and the Konya Closed Basin case study analysis. The first part draws a theoretical framework on IWRM planning and discusses its principles, aims and implementation tools through an internationally accepted point of view. The second part, meanwhile, examines the interpretation of the IWRM planning in Turkey and its implementation in the case of the Konya Closed Basin IWRM Planning Process. The study reveals that only an integrated approach at the basin scale can solve the water demand problems of different human activities, which puts pressure on the carrying capacity of the water resources and their basins. Despite the inadequacies in the related institutional and legal frameworks in Turkey, Konya Closed Basin IWRM planning, especially Tuz Lake Management Plan studies, comes to forefront as a pioneering IWRM planning practice: The capacity building, public participation, and awareness raising principles of the IWRM planning approach have been positively realized during this planning process. Besides, the components of the plan are also compatible with the theory of IWRM planning, which consists of strategic, goal-oriented, and participatory planning approaches.

It is an indisputable fact that cities have experienced a process of economic and spatial restructuring accompanied by the globalization of economy throughout the world since the 1980s. In line with this process, industrial sector has also witnessed economic and social restructuring process. Research in regional planning marks this process as a consequence of emerging industrial dynamics such as new technologies, new markets, and lower labor costs under new spatial divisions of labor. Such industrial dynamics brought spatial restructuring as well. Therefore, industrial firms are willing to relocate production activities to the new areas where they maintain the spatial margins of profitability. In this respect, today, one of the main discussion arenas of industrial geography is to explain the reasons of the industrial relocation. Within this context, this thesis focuses on the main push and pull factors that underlie the relocation process of industrial activities towards outside of Istanbul as well as beyond the provincial boundaries. In order to show this, a case study was conducted in Gebze Organized Industrial Zone (GOIZ) because 1/100.000 scale Environmental Management Plan of Istanbul has determined GOIZ as the potential area where the firms can relocate. The case study covered 37 firms which constitute the total number of firms relocated from Istanbul. Results of the thesis show that traditional location factors such as transport, site and premises are the most important factors that motivate firms to relocate from Istanbul to the GOIZ. However, contemporary factors are not much explanatory in case of the GOIZ.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the different forms of global integration and artistic and economic performance factors in order to explain their contribution to the development of film industry as one of the &ldquo / core cultural industries&rdquo / (Hesmondhalgh, 2007, s. 12) accepted as &ldquo / the driver of local economic development at selected locations like cosmopolitan cities&rdquo / (Scott, 2004a, p. 463). In this regard, this thesis attempts to explore globalization process of film industry within different forms of integration and artistic and economic success factors for films and film companies. The main hypothesis of the thesis is that globally integrated film industry is the outcome of artistic and economic successes at film, firm, and organizational level and the function of strong local and global networks, different forms of production strategies and social network structures as well as the high level of social, human, and material capital. Thus, while film, firm and organization specific variables and their effects are tried to be examined for economic performances / human, social, and economic capitals are explored for artistic performances. For the identification of the level of global integration and artistic and economic successes for Istanbul film industry both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed together with social network analysis throughout the thesis. In this way, this thesis describes the types and levels of integration for the case study area and evaluates its relative successes gained in the domestic market with the perspective of global film market. The analyses show that it is a fast growing industry in Istanbul and has managed to succeed in global market at different levels with different strategies. However, the findings demonstrate that production organization of film industry, which is generating economic growth in domestic market / remain incapable against the changing dynamics of film industry in global market. It is still small scale industrial activity and located on the periphery of global film market. For the global integration and sustainable economic growth, it seems very difficult to maintain the existing dynamics of film production in Istanbul.

This thesis is an attempt to search the relationship between development, innovativeness and networking. In recent regional development debates, regional networks of SMEs and regional knowledge potential have been emphasized as important components of development. In the context of the thesis, inter-regional networks of SMEs are analyzed as an alternative approach to the regionally bounded perspective. It is hypothesized that regional and inter-regional networks complement each other, and both of them play an important role in regional development and innovation processes. The thesis acquires the indicators for the increasing importance of external networks and innovation capacity in the globalisation era. Hence, the study explains the relative importance of spatial proximity in different types of networks, the positive and negative contributions of external networks to regional networks, and the contributions of regional, national and global networks to innovation activities of SMEs. The theoretical framework discussed in this thesis is based on the recent regional development models and contemporary networking and innovation studies. The main findings of this study contribute to this debate by modifying some of assumptions related to networking and innovation activities of SMEs. In the thesis, the method used for research is field survey, realized in three industrial regions. 131 SMEs have been involved in this survey in order to obtain a qualitative data about network and innovation behavior of SMEs in the sample regions.

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the socio-spatial impacts of the restructuring of a locality, Karab&uuml / k, which was shaped under a different development strategy, namely, import substitution industrialization strategy. Karab&uuml / k case shows that establishment of Karab&uuml / k Iron and Steal Factories was decided on the basis of political and social priorities of a period when there was limited competitive environment and such priorities have lost their primacy under the export oriented growth strategy in a highly competitive international environment. The recent experience shows that Karab&uuml / k fails to cope with this reality and the industrial base of the locality ever increasingly fails to support the economy of the city. The thesis is also an attempt to show the socio-spatial repercussions of this failure on the locality. It will be shown that, closing down the Factories would have important negative impacts upon the whole city, rather moderate policies have been followed by various governments during the recent decades by partly placing the burden on the workers themselves. In the long term, however, survival of the factory seems to be difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, the future for the city itself looks quite bleak.