DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Institutional Use of Information Technologies in City Planning Agencies: Implications From Turkish Metropolitan Municipalities By Koray VELİBEYOĞLU A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School in Partial Fullfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department: City and Regional Planning Major: City Planning İzmir, Turkey July, 2004

We approve the thesis of Koray VELİBEYOĞLU Date of Signature Prof.Dr. Akın SÜEL Supervisor Prof.Dr. Cemal ARKON Prof.Dr. Sezai GÖKSU Dokuz Eylül University Assoc.Prof.Dr. Semahat ÖZDEMİR Assist.Prof.Dr.Erkal SERİM Assoc.Prof.Dr. Güneş GÜR Head of Department

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my thanks to my supervisor Prof.Dr. Akın SÜEL for his support and advice. His kind personality has increased my motivation in every step of the study. I thank to my beloved wife and colleague Hasibe Velibeyoğlu, and my parents Ayşen Velibeyoğlu and Bülend Velibeyoğlu for their support and encouragement. And special thanks to Dr. Ömür Saygın for helping me to reach necessary information and other sources which are vital for the study. Thanks to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Günaydın who provided guidance while constructing the key points of the case study research. I would also like to thank to Fikret Işıkyar for his constructive comments on the writing process of the study. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude for the valuable support that I have received during the case study research: I appreciate help of Gürsel Yıldırım and Serdar Nizamoğlu from Ankara Metropolitan Municipality; Hasan Topal, Önder Batkan, Çağlar Kocatoros, Ahmet Özer from İzmir Metropolitan Municipality; Mehmet Işık, Hakan Koyunlular, Nesrin Altun, Alp Kaya, Hakan Çiftçi from Bursa Metropolitan Municipality. I would also thank to the planning staff of the Ankara, İzmir, and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality for their help. 3

ABSTRACT This study argues the pivotal relationship between the computing technology and its organizational context. It focuses on nature of implementation in organizational settings that are becoming increasingly important. A further motivation point for this study is to reveal the different discourses (managerial/political/emotional etc.) in the cycle of implementation. The assumption behind this interest is that IT and other technologies are not value-neutral and these tools have the possibility of shaping the goals and agenda of the planning profession. As a part of methodology of the thesis, a comprehensive literature survey was completed around the theoretical issues that constitutes the framework of IT/IS adoption in organizations with a particular reference to urban planning and management. The statements and research questions were tested in the planning departments of selected metropolitan municipalities (Ankara, Izmir, and Bursa) that are experiencing information technologies and systems in various implementation stages. The research strategy was based on a variety of qualitative approaches, including two different types of closed questionnaire-based surveys and semi-structured/unstructured interviews. To measure the success/failure degree of the planning technologies used in the case study organizations in the user dimension of the study, DeLone and McLean s (1992) IS Success Model and Heeks (1999) ITPOSMO model were used. Case study research revealed the current stands of ICT implementation in urban planning departments of local governments. It was also evaluated planning practitioner s commitment and dependence towards computerized planning tools in working practice. In a more exploratory context, a progressive research agenda for ICT implementation in public planning agencies was developed based on the implications of empirical research and literature-based analysis. 4

ÖZ Bu çalışma kent planlama alanındaki bilgisayar teknolojileri ile bu teknolojilerin kurumsal uygulama çerçevesini tartışmaktadır. Dolayısıyla uygulama sürecinin temeline ve kurumsal çevreye odaklanmaktadır. Bu çalışmayı yönlendiren önemli unsurlardan biri bilgi teknolojilerinin uygulanması sürecinde ortaya çıkan farklı yaklaşım ve uygulama tarzlarına ışık tutulmasıdır. Burada ortaya konulan yaklaşımın temelinde bilgi teknolojilerinin ve sistemlerinin bir araç olmanın ötesinde değerler taşıdığı ve bu nedenle planlama mesleğinin gündemini ve hedeflerini etkileyebileceği varsayımı yatmaktadır. Çalışmanın metodolojisinin önemli bir bölümünü kent planlamayı temel alan ve bilgi teknolojileri ve sistemlerinin kurumsal adaptasyonu ve uygulaması üzerine yoğunlaşan kapsamlı bir literatür taraması oluşturmaktadır. Soru cümleleri ve varsayımlar bilgi teknolojileri uygulamaları bakımından farklı aşamalarda olan Ankara, İzmir ve Bursa Büyükşehir Belediyelerinin planlama bölümleri örneğinde test edilmiştir. Araştırma stratejisi, mülakat ve anket gibi çeşitli niteliksel araştırma teknikleri üzerinde kurgulanmıştır. Planlama teknolojilerinin kurumsal uygulamalarının etkinliğini ölçebilmek için ise DeLone ve McLean (1992) in Bilgi Sistemleri Başarı Modeli ile Heeks (1999) in ITPOSMO modeli kullanılmıştır. Sonuçta, örnek alan çalışması bugün itibariyle kent planlamada kullanılan bilgi teknolojileri ve sistemlerinin seçilen Büyükşehir Belediyeleri örneğindeki durumunu ortaya çıkarmıştır. Ayrıca, yerel yönetimlerde çalışan şehir plancılarının bilgi teknolojilerinin kurumsal utilizasyonu konusundaki düşünceleri, bu teknolojilere yaklaşımları ve çalışma pratikleri içindeki kapladıkları yer üzerine değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. Araştırma sonuçları üzerindeki çıkarımlardan ve ilgili literatürden beslenen daha geniş bir çerçeve içinde de araştırmacılar ve uygulayıcılar için ileriki çalışmaların önceliklerini işaret eden bir araştırma gündemi oluşturulmuştur. 5

ABBREVIATIONS BBS BUIS CAD CBO DSS GIS ICT IT IS IT/IS LIS MIS PC PSS SDSS UIS Bulletin Board Systems Bursa Urban Information System Computer Aided Design Community Based Organization Decision Support System Geographical Information System Information and Communication Technologies Information Technology Information System(s) Information Technologies and Systems Land Information System Management Information System Personal Computer Planning Support System Spatial Decision Support System Urban Information System 6

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS... vi LIST OF FIGURES... x LIST OF TABLES... xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION... 1 1.1. The Context... 2 1.2. Relevance of Research and Contributions to Field... 6 1.3. Aim of the Study... 9 1.4. Methodological Approach... 10 1.5. Structure of the Thesis... 14 CHAPTER 2. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION SYSTEM... 16 2.1. Information... 16 2.2. Information Technology (IT)... 18 2.3. Information Systems (IS)... 20 2.4. Information Technologies and Systems in Planning... 21 2.5. Summary... 25 CHAPTER 3. CITY PLANNING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY... 26 3.1. Information Technologies in City Planning... 26 3.1.1. A Historical Outlook to relationships between City Planning and Technology... 28 3.1.1.1. Planning as Applied Science... 29 3.1.1.2. Planning as Politics... 31 3.1.1.3. Planning as Communications... 35 3.1.1.4. Planning as Reasoning Together... 38 3.2. IT for Planning Process and Practice... 42 3.2.1. IT in Planning Process... 42 7

3.2.2. IT and Planner Professional... 44 3.3. IT/IS in Planning Organizations... 45 3.4. Summary... 49 CHAPTER 4. DIFFUSION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ORGANIZATIONS... 51 4.1. Technology and Organizations... 51 4.1.1. Nature of Organizations... 51 4.1.2. IT/IS in Public Sector Organizations... 55 4.2. Diffusion of IT/IS in Organizations... 58 4.2.1. Pre-Implementation... 61 4.2.2. Implementation... 62 4.2.3. Post-Implementation... 63 4.3. Theoretical Perspectives on IT Implementation in Organizations... 64 4.4. Summary... 68 CHAPTER 5. EVALUATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN ORGANIZATIONS... 69 5.1. Key Concepts in the Evaluation of IT/IS... 69 5.1.1. Performance Measurement: Effectiveness, Efficiency, Productivity, Quality... 69 5.1.2. Success and Failure... 71 5.2. Review of Different IT/IS Evaluation Models... 73 5.2.1. Richard Heeks Theory of Conception-Reality Gap and ITPOSMO Model... 73 5.2.1.1. ITPOSMO dimensions of IT/IS success and failure... 73 5.2.1.2. Three basic archetypes of conception-reality gaps... 76 5.2.1.3. Assessment of Gaps: Gap Closure Techniques... 80 5.2.1.4. Critics of Heeks s Conception-reality Gap Assessment... 81 5.2.2. DeLone and McLean s IS Success model... 79 5.2.2.1. Critics of DeLone and McLean s Model of IS Success... 86 5.2.2.2. DeLone and McLean s IS Success Model for GIS and City Planning... 88 8

5.3. Summary... 91 CHAPTER 6. A CASE STUDY IN SELECTED PLANNING DEPARTMENTS OF TURKISH METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITIES... 92 6.1. Research Background... 92 6.1.1. Brief History of ICT in Turkey... 92 6.1.2. Public Administration and ICT in Turkey... 94 6.1.2.1. Structure of Turkish Local Government... 94 6.1.2.2. ICT for Governance... 97 6.1.2.3. Development of GIS in Turkey... 102 6.1.3. City Planning Context... 107 6.2. Research Strategy... 111 6.3. Case Study Research... 116 6.3.1. Pre-Implementation... 120 6.3.2. Implementation... 126 6.3.2.1. Results of General User Survey... 126 6.3.2.2. Obstacles and Benefits derived from IT Implementation... 135 6.3.3. Post-Implementation... 139 6.3.3.1. Results of Specialized User Survey... 139 6.3.3.2. Heeks Model of ITPOSMO Dimensions on IT/IS Success in PSOs... 145 6.4. Summary... 153 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION... 154 7.1. General Discussions on the Research Findings... 154 7.2. General Discussion on IT/IS implementation in Urban Planning... 160 7.2.1. Implications for Planning Practice... 161 7.2.2. Implications for Planning Practitioner... 163 7.2.3. Implications for Public sector Planning Agencies... 167 7.3. Directions for Future research... 171 REFERENCES... 175 9