LAND, vol.13, no.4, pp.1-28, 2024 (SSCI)
The objective of this study is to examine the process of land-use change through the
lens of the preferences of local actors in the Kırcami Agrihood. Our main focus is to investigate
whether the decision-making mechanisms used in the Kırcami development plan (i) are carried out
in accordance with deliberative democracy and (ii) whether they are true, systematic, and typical
tools of deliberative democracy. To do so, in-depth interviews were conducted with local actors,
namely residents, investors, and local government, and their preferences and views regarding urban
agriculture and the decision-making process were examined through discourses. Our first finding is
that very few tools of deliberative democracy are used in the making of the Kırcami development
plan, and they are not idealised tools. Our second finding is that less than half of residents and
investors participate in these flawed democratic decision-making processes; thus, the transformative
power of deliberation does not function in the Kırcami case. Finally, deliberative democratic tools are
not incorporated into Turkish legislation at both local and national levels. We conclude that these
three issues should be addressed, and genuine tools of deliberative democracy should be used to
make the Kırcami development plan more sustainable and legitimate.