The Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT) was accepted as an 'Associate' member at the 40th Anniversary Congress of the World Association of Major Metropolises (METROPOLIS).
In his speech at the event, Deputy Secretary General Ulaş Altun emphasized that UMT represents over 1,400 municipalities. He shared the Union’s collaborative efforts in areas such as metropolitan planning, nature-based solutions, sustainability, inclusivity, resilience, and participatory governance.
Altun noted that UMT plays an active role in many international organizations. He highlighted that, by its legal status and charter, the union systematically undertakes advocacy and policy development to represent municipalities at national and international levels and to improve the quality of local services.
He described UMT as an institutional actor that actively engages in global and regional local governance networks, closely follows global agendas, and promotes their implementation at the local level. UMT also acts as a bridge and facilitator between local governments, central authorities, the United Nations system, civil society, and academia. “Our doors are wide open to cooperation, joint training, and thematic initiatives,” Altun stated.
He added, “By joining this network as an Associate Member, our intention is clear: to share our municipalities’ field experiences, co-develop evidence-based policies, generate tangible outcomes through twinning and joint projects, and scale up best practices at the metropolitan level.”
What is METROPOLIS?
Founded in 1985, the World Association of Major Metropolises (METROPOLIS) is the largest global network of metropolitan areas, representing more than 160 metropolises and over 700 million urban residents.
With over 40 years of institutional experience, METROPOLIS promotes a multi-stakeholder, multi-level, and inclusive governance approach to address the needs of rapidly growing and diversifying urban populations. It aims to strengthen cooperation among member cities in sustainability, social inclusion, resilience, and economic development.
Headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, METROPOLIS members can also join regional branches of UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments). In this context, a municipality from Türkiye can simultaneously be a member of both UCLG-MEWA and METROPOLIS.
As of 2025, METROPOLIS has 164 members: 28 from Africa, 67 from Asia, 20 from Europe-Asia & the Middle East, 18 from Europe, 7 from North America, and 24 from Latin America and the Caribbean. Türkiye’s METROPOLIS members include the metropolitan municipalities of Istanbul, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Kocaeli, Konya, Antalya, and Muğla.