Research Paper

MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING CRP 478 URBAN RESIDENTIAL TRANSFORMATION AND CHANGE IN TURKISH CITIES

RESEARH PAPER ON KARACAÖREN-TOKİ HOUSING ESTATE

Final Study | 2019-2020 Fall

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE AREA ....................................................................................... 2 1.1 Location in the City ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 History of the Neighbourhood ..................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Basic Characteristics of the Neighbourhood ................................................................................ 3 2.PLANNING PROCESS RELATED TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD ................................................................ 5 2.1 Previous Plans Made .................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Planning Decisions ........................................................................................................................ 7 3.MAJOR FORCES BEHIND TRANSFORMATION ..................................................................................... 8 4.LEGISLATION RELATED TO THE TRANSFORMATION........................................................................... 9 4.1 Legislative Regulations Providing a Basis for the Urban Transformation .................................. 9 4.1.1 Regulations Regarding Illegal Structures .............................................................................. 9 4.1.2 Regulations on the Housing Problem.................................................................................... 9 4.1.3 Regulations on the Construction Law and Planning ........................................................... 10 4.2 Laws Directly Regulating the Urban Transformation ................................................................ 10 4.2.1 The law on Urban Transformation Project of North Ankara (2004) .................................. 10 4.2.2 Municipal Law ...................................................................................................................... 11 SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION RELATED TO THE TRANSFORMATION ............................................ 11 5. TRANSFORMATION PROCESS ........................................................................................................... 12 5.1 The Actors & Their Functions Managing the Transformation ................................................... 12 5.1.1 Beneficiary Actors ................................................................................................................ 12 5.1.2 Managing Actors .................................................................................................................. 12 5.3 Stages of Urban Transformation ................................................................................................ 13 6.RESULTS OF TRANSFORMATION ....................................................................................................... 14 6.1

Social Impacts ....................................................................................................................... 14

6.2 Economic Impacts ....................................................................................................................... 16 6.3 Spatial Impacts............................................................................................................................ 17 7. EVALUATION ..................................................................................................................................... 19 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 20

INTRODUCTION With North Ankara Urban Transformation Project some specific parts of Keçiören and Altındağ Municipalities, where there were attempts to deal with uncontrolled urbanization, were included into the project. All of the squatter’s houses were decided to be demolished totally within the framework of transformation project. Illegal property owners that means squatter’s housing owners deserve to own one of 2400 TOKI houses to be built in Karacaören, which was within borders of Keçiören Municipality at that time. The owners mentioned here were those who were able to present any property tax receipt taken before the date January, 2000. At the end, some of the squatter’s housing owners were moved to Karacaören TOKI Housing Estate covering 635 hectares. People were given apartments with the size of 80, 100 or 120 m2 depending on their previous plot sizes (Gümüş, 2010).

The main aim of this study is to observe and try to explain the everyday life in the residential transformation area is presented under the titles of neighborliness, rules of the housing estate, housing estate/block management, monthly apartment installments, interaction with the city, institutions and establishments in the housing estate, and identity and status concerns of people who live there.

Throughout the case study conducted by the group members, some specific issues will be examined in terms of difficult situations that many of the families are put into when they were displaced from their squatter’s houses and were relocated in a housing environment designed to fit middle-class life when they lack the material and cultural resources to sustain it, and especially when their monthly installments increase twice a year, indexed to the raise in the salaries of civil servants. Although there are just a few people who are civil cervants. Therefore, with regards to the determination of the exsquatter population to keep their rural identities and habits, what kind of life they expect in the first place and what kind of life they found in their new habitat will be examined by answering following questions: o o o o

What activities and relationships are being reproduced or disappear?

How and in what direction do relations with neighbors and physical space evolve?

What kind of a living environment emerges as a result of all the transformation process?

What are the social consequences of the transformation process?

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1.GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE AREA 1.1 Location in the City Karacaören is a neighborhood located in Altındağ District, Ankara. The neighborhood is a bit away from the 2 main centers (Ulus and Kızılay) of the city and is relatively secluded. In today's cities, where distances are increasingly shortened by public transportation facilities, underdeveloped transport services cause some settlements not to access the required services or amenities. As in the case of Karacaören neighborhood, private car usage, doesn’t solve the accessibility problems due to the economic structure of the population living there.

Retrieved from: https://www.kuzeykent.com.tr

Following the Atatürk Boulevard, which is one of the main axes of the city, the location of Karacaören is about 19 kilometers on the axis following Çankırı Avenue, Erbakan Boulevard and Özal Boulevard.

1.2 History of the Neighbourhood

Aerial photo of the area in 2002

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Aerial photo of the area in 2019

Before the Karacaรถren-TOKI Housing Estate Project, project area is almost empty. There were no residential units in the project area, but there were residential units near the area and they are still exist. The people who will be moved to this area were the people who were used to living in squatter houses with garden that they have had illegally built.

1.3 Basic Characteristics of the Neighbourhood

One of the most important features of Karacaรถren neighborhood is its inability to establish a strong relationship with its environment. Land uses are designed to meet the needs of people living there, but are not related to land use in the surrounding area. At this point, the lack of planning can be mentioned.

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Karacaören-TOKI Housing Estate Project includes: family health center, women's club, primary school and high school, youth center, public bakery buffet, mosque, walkway and park as social features.

Also, there is a shopping mall named ‘Karacaören Toki AVM’ which includes are stores that allow people to meet their daily needs. There are not so many open spaces for recreation purposes: only children’s parks and some large open areas.

Housing project consists of 34 blocks with 12 floors, 4 blocks with 15 floors and 38 buildings with 4 floors. Squatter owners were given apartments with the size of 80, 100 or 120 m2 depending on their existing plot sizes.

Bus line 441 and stops to city center from Karacaören neighbourhood, taken from https://moovitapp.com

Public transportation from Karacaören to city center is provided with a bus line which has 81 stops.

The trip takes approximately 110 minutes. Bus passes frequently in the mornings, it passes once an hour in the afternoons. For Karacaören, there is a minibus that runs to and from the city center, as well as a public bus route, number 441. It goes through Karacaören– Ulus–Sıhhıye direction. However, both the minibus and the bus services are not sufficient for the residents, since both of them are very crowded. Therefore, integration and connectivity among the city center and these settlements is not strong.

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2.PLANNING PROCESS RELATED TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD 2.1 Previous Plans Made When we look at the planning history of the area, it is seen that the “Urban Transformation Project of North Ankara Entrance” area was tried to be transformed by the Municipality of Keçiören and the Municipality of Altındağ with the improvement development plans before the approval of the Law numbered 5104, but these initiatives were inconclusive.

Interventions to the area before 2000 [Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Department of Zoning, 2003] •Keçiören Municipality 1/1000 scale Şenyuva-Güzelyurt Improvement Reconstruction Plan

1983

1990

1991

1996

•Competition under the name of “North Ankara City Entrance Protocol Road Housing and Environmental Development Project”

•Due to the organization of the “Urban Spine 1st Section (Altınpark-Hasköy-Ring Road) Urban Design Competition 1, 1/5000 scale layout development application was requested to be suspended, but the application continued.

•Interventions to the site were carried out with the Revision of the Reconstruction Plan No. 65 dated 10.04.1996. 1.6 precedents were deemed appropriate in the breedingplans given the right of 4 storey construction.

These regions, which are not in the priority development areas of the city, have not been the focus of attraction for many years due to the limited infrastructure services, the high inclination effect of increasing construction costs and the clutter of the property structure. Even all these reasons have shown that waiting for the transformation of these areas by zoning plans is both useless and wrong because of the disadvantages it contains and the inadequacies of the urban environments they create.

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Interventions in the area after 2000 [Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Department of Zoning, 2003]

Ankara Northern Ankara (Protocol Road) Pursaklar Karacaรถren Village and Surrounding 1/5000 Master Plan It was prepared for the Urban Transformation Project of North Ankara, was considered to be the location where the Housing Development Plan will be located as the starting point of the planned transformation processes on the protocol road.

Karacaรถren Collective Settlement Special Project Area

Which is located within the boundaries of 1/5000 master plan, has been specifically designed as the area where illegal residences in the area will be liquidated of.

INTERVENTIONS ON PLANNING SITE All previous planning activities have been suspended after the enactment of Law No 5104. The only plan that is valid after this law is the North Ankara Urban Transformation Project prepared on the basis of Law No 5104.

Taken from the Directorate of Redevelopment Department of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

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2.2 Planning Decisions

Karacaรถren and Surroundings 1/5000 Scale Master Plan

Karacaรถren and Surroundings Existing Plan in 2019

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Proposed master plan are not implemented to area and land uses are missing around the neighbourhood such as; new development areas (residential), health facilities and education units, green spaces (active-passive). This situation leads to the lack of integration between the project area and the rest of the city.

3.MAJOR FORCES BEHIND TRANSFORMATION Despite being a relatively new concept, the most influential urban transformation projects were launched in many large cities such as Ankara and Istanbul during the Menderes Government by ignoring primary objectives of urban renewal. The interventionist and pioneering role of the central government is much more striking in large scale projects conducted in Ankara. The North Ankara Urban Transformation Project was initiated in 2004 with a rhetorically attractive, prestigious urban space discourse in the area of Ankara's International gateway, and the construction of cultural and congress centers, shopping centers, hotels and luxury residences was planned. The construction of cultural and congress centers, shopping centers, hotels and luxury residences was planned within the scope of this project. North Ankara entrance refers to the area beginning from Ankara Esenboğa Airport, known as the protocol route, to Ankara city center.

When the situation in that area before the transformation process is examined; it was seen an important zone in terms of the image of the city, especially since it is the route that foreigners come to the city.

However, this area was occupied by unplanned and illegal settlements, called as squatter housings.

Thus, the major force behind the transformation and related legal arrangements is to improve the physical conditions and environmental appearances of the area. At this point, 2300 people, whose houses were demolished, were considered as ‘’beneficiaries’’ of the transformation and they were forced to live in Karacaören-TOKİ Housing Estate. As it is seen in the North Ankara Urban Transformation project, which includes Karacaören stage, supporting the initiatives that increase the density and predict the function change in the areas where urban rent is high and put into practice without examining the effects of urban transformation projects make the cities become multistorey concrete piles. Thus, similar cities with similar urban identities are produced with high urban expenses.

Considering the Karacaören-TOKİ Housing Estate, it is stated that the main motive behind this project is to implement a project for the development of a good quality urban image along the spine of the city in order to enable people to live in healthier conditions, also to increase environmental values and contribute to our capital's position among the world capital cities. The settlement, which is planned separately from the whole city, cannot be argued to serve the above mentioned purpose given the conflicts it creates in the identity of the city.

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4.LEGISLATION RELATED TO THE TRANSFORMATION 4.1 Legislative Regulations Providing a Basis for the Urban Transformation Although the use of the concept of urban transformation as a legal concept is new in Turkey, there are several laws and practices that enable urban transformation to be made. There may be some factors that play a direct role in the realization of urban transformation, as well as factors that prepare the ground for its realization.

4.1.1 Regulations Regarding Illegal Structures It is known that the biggest problem of the cities in our country is unplanned construction, can also be called as squatter housing. They constitute a great threat especially in large cities receiving immigration and in areas where there is no zoning plan. One of the measures taken to prevent illegal construction in our country is the squatter law number 775 (1966). In accordance with this law, only structures built on the land of others were accepted as squatters which narrows the scope of the law. Multistorey buildings are built on unplanned areas should have also been defined as illegal construction due to the fact that all kinds of public services are taken to these areas and these buildings can also gain legal legitimacy with several amnesties. Although the law was enacted in order to regulate the existing squatter houses and to prevent the new construction it has not achieved its purpose since 1966. The law on squatter housing is an important law especially for the solution of the problem of urban sprawl. In practice, it is seen that the housing problem of the cities is still continuing and illegal construction, construction of buildings in contradictory areas or buildings against the rules cannot be prevented.

Another law related to unplanned and illegal constructions is the law on some procedures to be applied to buildings contrary to the zoning and squatter legislation numbered 2981 and the amendment of an article of the zoning law number 6785. The Law Number 2981 (2012) was established in contradiction with the zoning and squatter housing legislation within the boundaries of municipal and adjacent areas and was issued to regulate the procedures to be applied on all squatters under construction. In accordance with the principles set forth in this Law, it is envisaged that the structures to be preserved or rehabilitated shall be granted license and use permission provided that the obligations in this law are fulfilled. In view of all these regulations, it is seen that the law is only a zoning amnesty law and it is far from being an intrument of urban transformation. The law did not have any function beyond providing legitimacy to the illegal structures around the cities. ‘’It is useful to examine the other arrangements, that will be developed on squatter housing in the future, on the basis of this law, because the zoning amnesty is one of the most important problems of urban transformation.’’

4.1.2 Regulations on the Housing Problem One of the laws aiming at solving the housing problem, preventing illegal construction and ensuring urbanization in a more planned way is the Mass Housing Law Number 2985 (1984). It is foreseen that the resources of the Mass Housing Administration, which is envisaged to be established by the law, will be used in issues such as granting individual and collective housing loans, granting loans to projects aimed at transformation of squatter areas, preserving and renewing the historical texture and architecture, and making interest subsidies in loans and providing land for public housing areas. In article 7 of the same law, it is stated that the Mass Housing Administration may develop squatter transformation projects for the liquidation or recovery of squatter areas.

As it can be seen, the main purpose of the Law on Mass Housing is to solve the housing problem, to prevent unplanned and unhealthy housing by providing loans for more affordable housing or land and

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also to ensure the transformation of squatter areas. However, as it is explained above, the scope of the urban transformation is not limited with the physical problems of the localities or settlements. ‘’Urban transformation projects should have also dealt with the other dimensions or outcomes of the transformation.’’

4.1.3 Regulations on the Construction Law and Planning The use of planning as an instrument of urban transformation is very popular today. But actually urban transformation should have been a tool of urban planning. In other words, principles of urban planning can be used in implementation of urban transformation projects, but it may not always be sufficient by itself. As an example, one of the objectives of development plans is to prevent unplanned settlements, but sometimes planned settlements may also need to be transformed. In Turkey, it can be said that some of the implementations envisaged by the Construction Law have an especially preventive function.

Within the framework of the 18th article of the Construction Law (1985), some administrations are allowed to be arrange the uses on the land, without seeking the consent of the owners of that land, especially for the construction of roads, green areas, parks and schools. In addition, it is possible to make changes in the development plan in case of inadequacies in development plans occur over time. ‘’To be more clear, those administrations can make some specific changes on the development plan by using their authority of establishing revision development plans.’’

4.2 Laws Directly Regulating the Urban Transformation 4.2.1 The law on Urban Transformation Project of North Ankara (2004) Almost every legal arrangement and planning studies on the Ankara Protocol Road before 2000 lost their provision with Law Number 5104. The only plan that is valid today is the North Ankara Entrance Urban Transformation Project plan prepared on the basis of this law. The law regulates the principles of all types and scales of plans, all kinds of public and private infrastructural and social equipment arrangements and expropriation procedures within the boundaries of the North Ankara Entrance Urban Transformation Project. With this law, both the planning authority in the field of urban transformation and other authorities arising from the development law were given to the metropolitan municipality.

Simultaneously with the law, the 1/1000 scaled North Ankara Karacaören Mass Housing Settlement Area, Implementation Plan of the Karacaören Collective Settlement Special Project Area which is the subject of this paper, was approved by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Council dated 18.11.2004 and numbered 1349. Following the approval of the law, North Ankara Entrance Urban Transformation Project Development Plan was prepared with a scale of 1/5000. It also constituted a basis for North Ankara (Protocol Road) Pursaklar Karacaören Village and Surrounding Master Plan. Karacaören village was considered to be the area where the new housing units would be constructed, which was also understood as the starting point of the pre-planned transformation processes on the protocol road. In this context, Karacaören Collective Settlement Special Project Area is designed as the area where illegal housing owners in the transformation area would be transferred.

According to the regulations, unlicensed building owners who could certify that the illegal houses were built before January 1, 2000 are decided to be the beneficiaries who would be given houses located in the Karacaören area provided that they undertake to pay the cost within ten years.

Within the scope of the project, urban design, housing, social services, landscape and technical infrastructure provisions or arrangements would be carried out by the Metropolitan Municipality and Administration. Some specific responsibilities were given to the Mass Housing Administration as well as all other arrangements mentioned above. The law also sets out a procedure that is quite different from the Expropriation Law in the procedure of transfer of the capital between administrations.

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The law also regulated the financing of the project and those financial issues of urban transformation projects needs to be examined through 2 main cases. The first one aimed at providing the necessary financing for the realization of the project, and the second one focused on the revenues to be provided by the administration after the realization of the project. There may be some other incomes coming from the rents or sale of residences other than those to be granted to beneficiaries, workplaces or shopping centers to be built within the project. Sales of houses and workplaces to be made by the municipality and the administration shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Mass Housing Law dated 29.1984 and numbered 2985.

4.2.2 Municipal Law Article 73 of the Municipal Law, which came into force in 2005, authorized municipalities to implement urban transformation practices; however, the population of the municipality restricts its authority to prepare transformation projects. The law ignores the fact that urban transformation may also be needed in less populated municipalities. Since one of the aims of urban transformation is to revive social and economic life in cities, urban transformation projects can be prepared in less populated cities in order to prevent over immigration. On the other hand, urban transformation may be mandatory to avoid earthquake risk. In urban transformation, the authority of less populated municipalities may be limited, but the complete disqualification of these municipalities to prepare transformation projects may deprive small cities of the opportunity for development through urban regeneration.

City managers and municipal council support urban development plans that increase density and predict function changes where urban rent is high and they support implementation of urban transformation projects without examining the impacts of urban regeneration. It makes the cities become multistorey concrete piles, again.

SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION RELATED TO THE TRANSFORMATION AntiSquatting Law Zoning Amnesty Mass Housing Law

There may be some factors that play a direct role in the realization of urban transformation, as well as factors that prepare a basis for its realization.

Many legal regulations played a role in the Case of Transformation Project in which Karacaรถren Site is also matter of concern.

Construction Law

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The Law on Urban Transformation Project of North Ankara

Municipal Law

5. TRANSFORMATION PROCESS 5.1 The Actors & Their Functions Managing the Transformation 5.1.1 Beneficiary Actors - People who have building plots within the borders of project area, would be given minimum 100 square meters improved land or they would be given minimum 167 square meters unimproved land with a contract. Those who cannot complete some specific requirements will be entitled to have a housing unit by getting into debt and must pay these debts in 24 months. As of April 2007, 2401 people have signed that kind of contracts.

- People who have both the building plots and housing units within the borders of project area were provided 200 Turkish Liras monthly rent allowance, in addition to the land agreement.

Also the costs of their housing units are deducted from the total debts. As of April 2007, 2516 people have signed that kind of contracts.

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People who have land registry certificate but did not convert this certificate to title deed were also taken into consideration. They were also provided 200 Turkish Liras monthly rent allowance. 80 square meter housing contract is made with those beneficiaries by making them burden with debt. They were also provided 200 Turkish Liras monthly rent allowance. As of April 2007, 824 people have signed that kind of contracts.

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Those who built squatters on the public lands by illegal means before the year 2000, and paid their taxes in accordance with the squatter law number 775, would be considered as beneficiaries of the North Entrance Project. As of April 2007, 1204 people have signed that kind of contracts.

5.1.2 Managing Actors

The diagram rearranged in the light of information obtained from master's thesis of Ă–zge YĂźksel, 2007.

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Ministry to which TOKI is Affiliated prepares the guide of transformation project as well as related laws on urban transformation project.

Mass Housing Administration (TOKİ) improves the image of the city to beautify and make ordered settlement, it also constructs the houses.

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality constructs the houses, provides social infrastructures, approves construction and revision plans.

The authorities of Altındağ – Keçiören Municipalities were restricted or fully transferred to metropolitan municipality.

TOBAŞ Provides consultancy services, controls the housing contracts, arranges the land purchase and sale.

EGO and ASKİ General Directorates provides technical infrastructure.

5.3 Stages of Urban Transformation North Ankara Entrance Urban Transformation Project was enacted by Grand National Assembly ıf Turkey as a special law numbered on March 4, 2004. By the comment of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, the project covers an area of 1582 hectares. It is also stated that a total of 5000 squatters within the borders of Altındağ and Keçiören Municipalities will be demolished along the Esenboğa Protocol Road. On the other hand, the relevant beneficiaries or right holders would be moved to the houses to be built by the Metropolitan Municipality and TOKİ.

If the decisions and necessary arrangements are listed in a chronological order, the transformation process is followed as given below.

In 2004: 1/5000 scale master development plan was prepared for North Ankara (Protocol Road) and PursaklarKaracaören Settlements. The area was determined primarily as the area where illegal housing owners would be settled.

Later in 2004: 1/1000 scale implementary development plan which prepared for Karacaören and its surrounding was approved by Metropolitan Municipality. The area was declared as the Private Project Area for New Settlements.

In 2005: 1/1000 scale implementary development plan which prepared as a whole and according to the master plan, was approved by Metropolitan Municipality. Prior transformation areas of the project were identified and relevant beneficiaries were informed about the process.

Yüksel Ö. 2007

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With the completion of the urban transformation process, a new period has just started especially for the beneficiaries of the project which will be discussed in detail, in the next parts of the research paper.

Although the amount of vacancy in the neighborhood cannot be determined with certain information, the following inferences have been made according to the information obtained from the online forum sites and during the field studies.

- 2400 housings that were declared to be built in Karacaรถren Housing Estate had been delivered to the beneficiaries in a long and delayed term.

- Delays and disruptions in rent payments (that are paid as in-kind aid) have affected the beneficiaries economic balance.

- Since everything is based on money in the new built environment of the urban poor, they had to sell their dwellings and look for more cost-efficient housing options. As it has been stated by the local residences, most of the housing units are reallocated, including housekeeper's flat, mostly due to the high living costs.

- Prior to the transformation process, people working in Pursaklar or nearby industrial sites are relatively more satisfied with their lives in Karacaรถren but it may be concluded that they are very few in number.

6.RESULTS OF TRANSFORMATION 6.1 Social Impacts Today, TOKI, has almost the financial and political power to shape the housing sector in Turkey alone.

The economic, spatial and social impacts of the activities of the institution, which has built more than 600.000 residences in the last decade, are not always positive. Looking at the plan of the Karacaรถren TOKI Mass Housing Estate, there is no room both outside and in the houses for many activities that the old squatter dwellers are used to do such as sitting in front of their doors and chatting, dry their washed clothes outside etc.

Cooperation in squatter areas has important economic, social and psychological roles in low income groups. This unity, created from space, provides survival of the disadvantaged groups in the city, and even make them stronger. Therefore, losing this solidarity network has a significant impact on the people. Business center which TOKI built turned into Karacaรถren Shopping Mall and became a place to socialize for the residents since the beginning of the project as well as walkways and parks within the site. These people had to change their neighbourhood relationships as well, since their spatial organization have changed.

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Retrieved from Google Maps

Karacaรถren AVM, retrieved from Google Maps

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6.2 Economic Impacts

These people were producing their own fruits and vegetables in their gardens, cooking their breads in their squatter neighbourhoods.

It is planned that families in Karacaören will own an apartment in a 15-year mortgage system by paying monthly installments and these installments will increase twice a year based on the increase in civil servant salary.

Then, in order to become a landlord, they join the bank system and buys service by paying a dues for the maintenance and cleaning of his building.

Some families lost their flats in this process, started to live in rented flats because they couldn’t afford the living conditions in their new houses and lost the chance to be added to the system.

The lot and blocks and apartments of the right-owner houses built and to be built in Karacaören area were determined among the right holders. After the lottery contracts were made by the related bank.

10% of the price determined by the appraisal commissions for the illegal structure was deducted from the value of the apartment to be allocated as a result of the contract and the remaining amount was paid in installments. No down payment was received from the beneficiaries. The payment program was set at 15 years and installment was 180 months. Monthly installments vary between approximately 212 TL and 278 TL according to the price of the flat determined by lot.

People living and working in the relatively center of the city are transferred to the periphery and isolated from urban life. This leads to a differentiation of the forms of work and solidarity that they are used to.

Another result of moving to remote, newly developed districts is the increasing distance from workplaces. This causes people to leave their earlier jobs and they start looking for new ones (Erman, 2009).

In Pursaklar, service sector is more developed since it is a metropolitan district, limited job opportunities are provided to the people of the site. Distance between Pursaklar centre and Karacaören project area is 4km. Pursaklar is relatively more accessible for residents in contrast to city center.Also, there is an industrial zone near the site and some residents work there. (Erman,2012)

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6.3 Spatial Impacts People have the ability to transform the built environment they live in terms of they needs. Also, people are able to transform the built environment imposed on them with their apartment plans and site design, and thus a lifestyle according to their own wishes and needs. Therefore, living spaces should be designed for people and for their needs.

Since TOKI does not create social, spatial and design policies on a project basis, many transformation projects are similar and do not differ from each other. This creates spatial problems since same project couldn’t respond to all problems. Also, most of the transformation projects, including KaracaÜren, involve displacement processes. One of the basic impact of urban transformation is that with the displacement, people have to move from their original districts and homes to new ones, and this has negative effects on their social as well as transportation networks (Erman, 2009). As a result, people are trying to change and adapt their new living environment by comparing it to the old one.

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The rules imposed by TOKI site management (Emlak YÜnetim A.Ş.) have restricted the spatial aspects of people’s lives. For example, hanging laundry down the balcony, sit in front of the door, leave the shoes in front of the apartment door has been forbidden (Erman,2012). Therefore, these rules have resulted in the loosening of the site rules by the residents. The result was bicycles hanging from the balconies, women sitting on the pavements, wool laid for airing to empty spaces, and carpets washed in front of the building (Erman,2012).

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7. EVALUATION

Within the scope of the North Ankara Urban Transformation Project which also includes Karacaören Housing Estate, many legal arrangements have been introduced to ensure urbanization under regular and healthy conditions. Even the laws were introduced to enable implementation of the project itself.

However, in Turkey, especially in large cities conducting large-scale urban transformation projects, there is a clear need for a legal arrangement in which, the city is considered as a whole and a complex organization, urbanization processes are taken into account not only in terms of housing-related issues but also in terms of its social, economic and also cultural aspects.

As it is seen in the North Ankara Urban Transformation Project, reasons such as authorizing more than one actor in the transformation process and restricting local powers make it difficult to make and implement necessary decisions and renew the city in a holistic way as it regulates only certain areas of urban land.

Erman T. 2012

Erman T. 2012

As these are all mentioned within the scope of the research paper on Karacaören-TOKI Housing Estate; forcing the ‘’beneficiary’’ actors defined previously, to move to another place or a significantly different living environment lead to social problems and also loss of personal and collective identity.

Although the squatter housing had brought unhealthy conditions in their life, people could not get used to the new apartment conditions because they used to meet their housing needs in a very cheap way.

That is why they didn’t even try to get use to their new life styles in apartments.

In newly built apartments, everything is based on money, including security. For these reason, according to the study of Tahire Erman, 88% of respondents living in apartments have said that it is more expensive. Apart from all these, people left the previous jobs and stayed unemployed for a while, looking for new jobs in subsistence problems. In this regard, the location of the new living space, which is detached from the city and difficult to reach are some of the important issues drawing attention as well as previously mentioned impacts of the project on local residents.

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Erman, T. (2016). Mış gibi site: Ankarada bir TOKİ-gecekondu dönüşüm sitesi. İstanbul: İletişim.

Erman, T. (2012). Yıkılan Gecekondular, Yapılan TOKİ Toplu Konut Projeleri: Kent Yoksulunun Yeni Yaşam Çevresi Olarak Karacaören-TOKİ Sitesi. İdeal Kent, 7 Gümüş, N. A. (2010). Becoming a neo-liberal city: Ankara north entrance urban transformation project.

(Unpublished master’s thesis). Middle East Technical University, Ankara.

Güney, Ö. (2012). Urban Regeneration Implementations in Turkey: Neo-Liberal Urban Policies, New Urban Actors and Squatter Housing Areas. İdeal Kent, (7), 64–83.

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