A Reading urban transformation through the case of Mamak, Ankara

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2013
Somalı, Fatma Süphan
The dissertation aims to understand and explain the different paces and patterns of spatial development in the Mamak district of Ankara, despite similar intervention backgrounds. It is suggested herein that understanding the characteristics of Mamak’s transformation requires more than the available theoretical tools, which are more suited to dynamic transformation processes, in that Mamak’s transformation has been rather slow. The conceptual framework developed in this study endeavors to incorporate the slow and non-transformation phenomena that occur alongside state interventions into the account of urban transformation; and it is proposed that what is perceived as a state of non-transformation embraces inherently potentialities for transformation. These potentialities are formed and reformed as a result of the dialectical relationship between the interventions and the “socio-spatial fixity (SSF)” of an area, which also forms a potential space. Subsequently, this formation process evolves into a state of transformation by producing a “transformation power,” the magnitude of which is explanatory in the different pace and patterns of development. The study makes an analysis of Mamak using this new conceptual framework, tracing six sub-areas with either similar intervention backgrounds or similar locations. The case study contributes to the refinement of concepts for possible further uses, and presents a new means of categorizing sub-areas based on their transformation power. Some unplanned and unexpected physical and social patterns that have emerged in areas with low transformation power are evaluated as a policy input for an ameliorated environment for Mamak.

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Citation Formats
F. S. Somalı, “A Reading urban transformation through the case of Mamak, Ankara,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2013.