Spatial Reflection of Urban Planning in Metropolitan Areas and Urban Rent; a Case Study of Cayyolu, Ankara

Abstract

Settlements in metropolitan areas owing to urban development dynamics undergo a fast change and development in a short time. Planning policies which determine the land-use pattern of settlements supposedly shape this process. It is important to examine this process of change in order to control its consequences. Metropolitan areas in recent years have emerged as arenas for extreme land speculation. New development areas tend to coincide with the expectations of actors who are also very effective in the land market. With the increase in the number of plan amendments, partial plans on piece meal implementations, “high urban rent” has become a frequent and a familiar phenomenon. This article examines the speculative development that has occurred in the west corridor of Ankara metropolitan area and discusses the negative and positive roles of planning in this process.

Acknowledgements

This study is partly based on data collected for the M.Sc. thesis by the first writer, “Spatial and Urban Rent Effects of Partial Plans and Plan Modifications on Metropolitan Sprawl: Cayyolu, Ankara Case Study” (Aras, 2008), Gazi University Institute of Science and Technology, June, 2008. The study was funded by the Project (No. 06/2007-07) supported by the Gazi University, Unit of Scientific Research Projects.

Notes

Before local elections, partial plan proposes and demands for development are usually considered as more acceptable in order to secure local votes. Master plan, prepared at 1/5000 scale, is a city-wide development plan. It may encompass several municipalities or only one town municipality. They show broad allocation of land and urban development patterns, main transportation routes, the building blocks form in a broad manner and population density in the city. Implementation plans are detailed land-use plans, prepared at 1/1000 scale, allow municipalities a great degree of control over production of urban built environment in general and “changes in spatial context” in particular (Ünlü, 2005). According to the definition of partial plan in the development act numbered 3194; it is explained that a partial plan has to supply its own social and technical infrastructure requirements inside its own boundary. However, despite the stipulation in the definition, partial plans are implemented in our country without supplying their social and technical infrastructure needs inside their boundaries (Buğu, 1999).