RANKING OF 81 PROVINCIAL CENTERS IN TÜRKİYE ACCORDING TO DIGITALIZATION INDEXES

Purpose: The importance of digital Smart City (SC) applications in the productive and effective fulfillment of city services has begun to increase. The aim of this study is calculating the weighted and unweighted urban digitalization indexes (UDI) values and ranking the cities based on these values.Methodology: Indicators, critical success factors (CSF), and dimensions affecting the digital transformation (DT) of cities were determined through literature review, surveys, and interviews. Urban Digitalization Maps (UDM) were prepared and UDI values were calculated with the help of the areas on these maps. The cities have been ranked according to calculated UDI values. In the research, the relevant indicator values were collected from city institutions to measure CSF rates with city data. In these measurements, the Satyam UDI Calculation technique was used to calculate UDIs, and the Categorical Value Selection technique was used to calculate indicator weight-percentages.Findings: In the resulting ranking table, it was seen that each province had different UDIs.UDI rankings and UDMs can enable administrators to take the necessary decisions in determining new SC policies and strategies, and thus use city resources more effectively and productively. As a result, since the DT of cities is not only a technological and temporary transformation, but an intergenerational transformation, it has been proposed to digitalize city services according to the Z-Generation.Originality: This study is the first to measure the level of digital transformation of 81 provinces in Türkiye.