Mr. Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party has repeatedly criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Syria policy and argued that the Syrian refugees are straining the country’s social and economic infrastructure and must return home.

Mr. Zeidan, the Syrian cook in Fatih, is aware that the opposition parties want Syrian refugees to return home, but draws consolation from the fact that Mr. Erdogan’s A.K.P. government shapes Turkey’s broader refugee policies. “As long as the A.K. Party exists, I’m fine. If it doesn’t, then I’m not,” he said.

But President Erdogan and his party have also begun responding to the growing discontent against the refugees. Last week, the Turkish president said that those involved in criminal activities will be deported, and that the refugees will soon be expected to pay for part of their health care cost.

The possibility of more than three million refugees returning from Turkey to Syria in the foreseeable future is remote. In the past seven years, most affairs of the Syrian refugees have been managed by the national government, but long-term planning requires that municipalities in Turkish cities and towns play a more active role in building social cohesion. It would only work if municipal authorities and the Turkish government approach the question in a nonpartisan manner and plan for the future together.

Istanbul, the country’s largest and most important city, needs to set the example for others to follow. While the new mayor of Istanbul, like his party, does want the Syrians to return home, he has pledged to help refugees, especially women and children. He hasn’t yet laid out a detailed plan, but he has pledged to establish a unit to coordinate refugee-related efforts and has spoken about tackling begging on the streets and allegations of child marriage among refugees.

Murat Erdogan, a scholar of migration at the Turkish-German University in Istanbul, who has researched the role of municipalities in integrating refugees, pointed out the lack of coordination between various Istanbul districts, metropolitan authorities and the national government. He found officials in several municipal districts clamoring for a pan-Istanbul mechanism to help resolve problems with documentation, identifying those in need and delivering aid and services.

More Syrians speak Turkish now. While lending an ear to native grievances, the mayor of Istanbul should invite refugees to share their perspectives to manage the challenges of migration. This would help the municipality create more tailored projects, ranging from job training courses to psychological support services. Refugees will also adapt to Turkish life more smoothly if they begin to feel like stakeholders, rather than dependent outsiders.