AN EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRESERVATION PLANS IN THE HISTORIC CORE OF ANKARA, TURKEY

Abstract

Ankara has been the capital of Turkey since 1923, but the city’s history goes back millennia. Over the last century, the historic city center, Ulus, has suffered the impacts of rapid urban development. The area has not had a functional preservation strategy since 2005. Today, large numbers of Ankara’s historic structures undergo significant alteration or even demolition to accommodate new development. This thesis surveys Ulus’ history, then focuses on the last 30 years to determine what happened. It is a first attempt at understanding how to design and implement a new strategy for Ulus that will preserve its historic cultural resources while accommodating the pressures of a rapidly expanding city. It finds that the lack of communication between various stakeholders has caused resistance to any possible strategies. Creating a viable master plan for Ulus will involve significant legal and administrative alterations to the preservation canon.