Changing Characteristics of a Significant Part of the Urban Fringe in Ankara: İmrahor Valley

Abstract

İmrahor Valley, which covers a significant part of the urban fringe in Ankara, has a crucial role in conserving the ecological balance of city with its landscape and other natural features. The valley has long been considered as one of the most important ecological areas of the city and protecting the valley as part of green system has been a primary objective since the first plan of city. However, the valley has rapidly lost its natural characteristics under the effects of recent planning policies and implementations. This article investigates the changes in İmrahor Valley as a contemporary example of the transformations at the fringe of Ankara. The aim of this article is to analyze the changing process of the valley and to determine the factors affecting this process. In the light of previous literature, researches and interviews, it is seen that the plan revisions since the mid-2000s, market forces and speculative pressures have been the main drivers that increase the tension in the valley and pave the way for construction. The importance of greenbelt regulations, protective land policies and the plan decisions taking into account the upper-scale ecological systems are also emphasized in the article.

Keywords

• urban fringe
• urban growth
• greenbelt
• i̇mrahor valley
• ankara