The Progression of Car Roads and City Planning and The Related Impact on Walkability in Ankara

Abstract

In this research paper the continuous progression of car roads and the consequential separation of population in Ankara throughout the years will be delved into, mainly focusing on city planning and relationships of hotspots in Ankara. The research will be handled in three parts, dividing major changes in walkways and roads. The changes of these hotspots and their transportational relations will be shown from old to new. The changes will be analyzed considering ease of transportation on foot and car and compared with older versions. Comparisons of Ankara and ideal walk paths and roads will be pointed out for better understanding.

Keywords: Road, Transportation, Walkway, Progress, Distance

1. Introduction 1.1. Ankara’s Historical Plan Development Ankara throughout most of history was an unused rural place, up until the 11th century. Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Ankara, which was used mainly as a military center, was progressed into a more livable area. The Ottomans wanted to stretch railways further towards the southwest and as the railways from Istanbul to the southwest passed through Ankara the city became more populated and the Anatolian market and material import-export increased in the area. [1]Through the ease of transportation more and more financial institutions emerged enabling the gradual population of Ankara. After the rule of Ottoman Empire and the new Republic of Turkey was established Ankara was still physically in bad shape. Both to fix the city and use it as a symbol of cutting ties from the cities Ottoman past the city was rebuilt. In Löchrer's plan the city is compact and close together. The roads are narrow and there are plenty of parks and recreational and social activity spaces. Ozdil sums up how Löchrer designed the city in the social aspect "Löchrer designated the location of the public spaces strategically to integrate people with the different parts of the city. He stressed the importance of linking the individual public spaces to each other, forming a network, and designed greenways to serve pedestrians of the city." In 1932 the plans had to be changed again because the plans of Löchrers plan could not satisfy the rapidly growing population of Ankara so the plan could not be integrated completely. Jansen much like Löchrer wanted to make a green city with parks and more walking circulation. He chose Ulus as the city center and designed the surrounding with visual connection with the Citadel. He kept the car roads narrow to minimize maintenance and construction blockades. However, as population increased and because of the Second World War economy was affected heavily creating demand for housing and workspaces. The plan had to change again, and Raşit Uybadin and Nihat Yücel designed the new city plan. Under their design most of the Jansen plan parks and greenways were demolished. Most of the green walkways and bike roads were turned into normal streets. This is where the social aspects of Ankara's city planning started to fail. In the 90’s, the plan of Ankara has developed in a way that the industrial and residential settlements started to grow all around Ankara. The plan had a proposal of a greenbelt which enveloped Ataturk Forest Farm, Hacettepe University, and METU. This assured that no unplanned development could destroy the green areas around these portions. As a continuation of this project, they managed to add new parks to the city. First step to initiate pedestrian routes was stopped because of the coup regime. It after a while continued and these routes played a big role as different purposes; social, cultural, political aspects. 2. Ataturk Boulevard in terms of Pedestrian Access

Atatürk Bulvarı ve Güvenpark, 1935. Kaynak: VEKAM Kütüphanesi ve Arşivi, Envanter No 2720.

Throughout Ankara’s history, the development of the plans and the alterations of the streets, roads, and squares mostly got effected by the growth of population and the needs of a big city. In the 30’s, the plans were created according to the needs of the pedestrians. One of the most known public places around those years for civilians to stroll around is Atatürk Boulevard and organizations such as concerts would be performed in the squares around Atatürk Boulevard.[2] The boulevard itself contains wide sidewalks, a lot of green areas, and cafes which was enough to take the attention of the town. Kızılay managed to shine out with its cultural organizations and spaces in the process of Ankara’s new modern life.[3]

Atatürk Bulvarı, 1954. Kaynak: VEKAM Kütüphanesi ve Arşivi, Envanter No: 0610. Besides organizing sports events and cultural activities, the Atatürk Boulevard held such big importance for, the young and old, both populations to have meet-ups and casually hang out around the green areas. The 30’s had an alteration for the working hours for the working population so enjoying the Boulevard also included them from some point. Thus, the pedestrian flow increased substantially. The establishment of the Republic of Turkey is trying to impose the traces of the modern world to the lifestyles and also the spatial arrangements that can be proved by the photographs from the old Ankara. This dynamic could not really hold on to the today’s world, considering that other approaches took over which happened to destroy the tracks of the republic and led to a new but disappointing Ankara.

1990 City Plan and Current City Plan (2022) Sources: Google maps, 2022, from, 2. Tarihsel Gelişim, Planlama Sürecinde - Ankara. (n.d.). 3. Eskişehir Road in Developing Ankara A major change that affected the city plan was the further development of the Dumlupınar Boulevard also known as Eskişehir road. The city planning committee decided to place an industrial district in the Sincan, Batıkent and Etimesgut areas but this was not executed properly as it was also used as a residential area. The Istanbul road could not handle the traffic this caused and the expansion of Eskişehir road began. Eskişehir road after being developed into a high traffic road became only useable by cars. The sidewalks were scrapped for a wider road almost all of the traffic lights were dismantled and it became unusable by pedestrians. Since there was a lot of traffic this created opportunity for advertisement and a sustainable place for shopping malls and offices. For instance, most people living in Ankara would know most places on the Eskişehir road because they see these structures almost daily. As this became apparent the sides of the roads started filling with office buildings, malls and gas stations. This development although increased social circulation it made pedestrian travel harder as the old plain spaces all turned into 30-40 storey buildings.

Eskişehir Road before extreme population and traffic jams. Sources: CENİKLİ, S. 2 saat Trafik Felç. Hürriyet., Furthermore, the fact that Eskişehir road tied the city center, the industrial and residential areas together and also the scattered offices and malls throughout the road it became a central piece in the city’s mechanism. The traffic increased enormously and today the road is infested with cars and traffic jams occur 3 to 4 times every day. 4. Conclusion Ankara is a densely populated city so the city plan taking its current shape is only natural, big cities are bound to turn into a sort of machine. The city planners’ mission is to guide it into a better form and make the city livable. The past plans achieve this to a degree but Ankara is also growing exponentially so keeping up is harder than it might seem. City planners plan 20- 30 years ahead of time and start planning but as society is chaotic and unpredictable, problematic areas such as Eskişehir road seep through but since Ankara is expanding there is possibility for a design that will fix these issues so all hope is not lost for pedestrians in Ankara.

Sources

[1] Günay, B. (2012). Ankara spatial history - middle east technical university. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://crp.metu.edu.tr/en/system/files/ankara_spatial_history.pdf [2] Gunes, M., and S. Sahin. "MODEL APPROACH FOR DEVELOPING URBAN GREEN NETWORK PLAN FOCUSED ON HISTORICAL URBAN IDENTITY: A CASE STUDY OF REPUBLICAN PERIOD IN ANKARA PROVINCE." Journal of Environmental Protection and Ecology 19.4 (2018): 1881-1891.

[3] Bayraktar, Adile Nuray. "Large-Scale Change In The Capital Ankara After The Declaration Of The Republic: The Construction Of Modern Life And Modern Spaces". Journal Of Ankara Studies, vol 4, no. 1, 2016, pp. 67-80. Lookus Bilisim A.S., https://doi.org/10.5505/jas.2016.69875.

Further Reading

- “Emergence and Evolution of the Urban Public Open Spaces of ...” Accessed May 18, 2022. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1538513219848434.

- Günay, B. “Ankara Spatial History - Middle East Technical University.”, 2012. https://crp.metu.edu.tr/en/system/files/ankara_spatial_history.pdf.

-Bayraktar, Adile Nuray. “(PDF) Large-Scale Change in the Capital Ankara after the Declaration of ...,” 2016. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305449880_Large-Scale_Change_in_the_Capital_Ankara_after_the_Declaration_of_the_Republic_The_Construction_of_Modern_Life_and_Modern_Spaces.

- Atatürk Bulvarı Fotoğrafı. . Photograph. Ankara, 1954. Koç Üniversitesi Vehbi Koç Ankara Araştırmaları Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi .

- Atatürk Bulvarı Ve Güvenpark Fotoğrafı. Photograph. Ankara, 1935. Koç Üniversitesi Vehbi Koç Ankara Araştırmaları Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi.

- Güneş, M., and S. Şahin. “MODEL APPROACH FOR DEVELOPING URBAN GREEN NETWORK PLAN FOCUSED ON HISTORICAL URBAN IDENTITY: A CASE STUDY OF REPUBLICAN PERIOD IN ANKARA PROVINCE.".” Journal of Environmental Protection and Ecology , 2018.

- “2. Tarihsel Gelişim, Planlama Sürecinde Ankara.” Accessed May 18, 2022. https://www.ankara.bel.tr/files/6513/4726/6062/2-tarihce.pdf.