Knowledge-based urban development potential of Turkish provinces

Knowledge economy (KE) has started to effect cities towards becoming knowledge cities (KC) to increase competitiveness in KE. Knowledge-based urban development (KBUD) strategies that draw the path to become KCs have already been adopted by several cities around the world. Turkey as one of the developing countries that has developed strategies for increasing competitiveness in KE, is missing a comprehensive planning approach towards becoming building a KC. The purpose of this paper is to determine which province(s) are strategically more appropriate to adopt KBUD strategies in Turkey. The study will, first, evaluate existing assessment models and, second, will introduce the model used specifically for Turkish provinces. After presenting the results of KBUD potential index of Turkish provinces, the study aims to end with a note on which provinces have higher potential to adopt KBUD strategies for a balanced and sustainable economic development.