GOLD Report I - UCLG

MIDDLE EAST / WESTERN ASIA212United Cities and Local Governmentsand the influence of Islamic movements.Caught in the crossfire between globalizationand an inward-looking identity, andfaced with real threats of destabilization, anumber of leaders prefer to play the stabilitycard to the detriment of structuralreforms – all the more so because suchreforms are sometimes perceived as beingencouraged by the West.the different municipal councils that makeup the metropolitan municipality. If thisreform has indeed successfully strengthenedthe metropolitan municipalities’ rangeof activities, some balance remains. Onone side, a mayor elected by direct universalsuffrage; on the other, the presence ofmembers of the first-tier ordinary municipalitycouncils within his council.25. In decreasing orderof their population in2006: Teheran,Istanbul, Baghdad,Riyadh, Ankara,Ispahan, Jeddah,Amman, Izmir, Alep,Mashed, Damas,Kuwait, Beirut,Sana, Mosul, LaMecca, Damn,Dubai, Tabriz,Bursa, Gaza, Basra,Shiraz, Andana,Gaziantep. Qom andAhvaz.26. In Yemen 8% of thepopulation, in Syriaand in IslamicRepublic of Iran25%, in theEmirates 30%, inIraq 37%, inPalestine 38%, inSaudi Arabia 43%,in Jordan 46%, inLebanon 55% and inKuwait 72%.Bahrain, Oman andQatar don’t haveany city of morethan one millioninhabitants.27. Law no. 5216 of 10July 2004.II.4. Specific structures forthe organizationof the metropolitan citiesThe region of Western Asia/Middle East encompasses28 big cities of more than amillion people 25 . In 2006 these cities togetherhad 77.14 million people which represents37% of the whole population of theregion 26 .The metropolis experienced a veryfast growth: 10.6% between 2005 and 2006compared to only 2.56% experienced bythe population of the whole region.Only Turkey in 1984 granted its majorcities the special status of ‘metropolitanmunicipalities,’ a status that was reformedin 2004 27 . Turkey’s 16 metropolitan municipalitieshave a total population of 25.9million inhabitants –38% of the country’stotal population.This special political status enables Turkishcities to be run with comparative efficiency.Big cities are divided into two levels: theproper metropolitan municipality, and theordinary first-tier municipalities. Themetropolitan municipality is responsible forurban services: urban planning, largeparks and green areas, collection and disposalof household and industrial wastes,water, sewerage, natural gas and publictransportation, establishing and operatingmarketplaces for wholesalers and slaughterhouses,sports, leisure and large recreationareas.Nevertheless, the latest reform was keento encourage coordination and cooperationbetween the two levels, as well as amongIn other countries, there is no special statusfor big cities, although this has beendiscussed, but never undertaken in Jordan.Only Amman, Beirut, and Damascus havespecial status, and this only in matters ofsecurity. Their municipal councils areessentially deliberative bodies with no realpower.Regarding the organization of metropolises,some are based on a hierarchical model,e.g. a central municipality vested withthe executive authority and lower levelmunicipalities the functions of which aremainly licenses (such as delivering buildingpermits) and administrative work. This isthe case, for example, in Amman. Othersfollow a “horizontal” model, with equal status,as for example Mashad in Saudi Arabia.However, in most cases there are big citieswith a municipal council vested with executiveand legislative functions; there existsometimes inner city district municipalities,whose status goes from pure executivebodies (Tehran) to consultative bodies(Baghdad). In this case, surrounding municipalitieslocated in the metropolitan areaare subject to the regional authority (regionor governorate).The case of Dubai is exceptional. The managementof the city has been devised as foran enterprise, the head of which is a generaldirector.It is clear that, apart from the exceptions ofTurkey and some cities elsewhere, such asAmman and Dubai, the exponential deve-