The aim of this study is to determine areas of policy priority by consideration of the demographic structure of the Roma living in the Kale Neighborhood, one of the oldest neighborhoods of Ankara. The economic and social characteristics of the area are also discussed. The data used in the study comes from the pre-test and pilot studies conducted in the Kale Neighborhood as part of Project No. 122R016: “Demographic Integration and Differentials of the Roma Population and Policy Priorities in Turkey”, which was made possible by financial support from the TUBITAK 1001 Program. The results of the study show that the average household size in the Kale neighborhood is currently 4.6, and while 51% of households live as a nuclear family, 29% of families are broken in some way. In a neighborhood where 47% percent of population is under the age of 18, it is observed that the proportion of children who attend school decreases rapidly with age, and the general level of education is quite poor. In addition, in a neighborhood where child labor and child marriages are widespread, the average age of first-time marriage is 17 for women and 21 for men. There are an average of 4.2 children per woman in the neighborhood. These findings show that the Kale neighborhood is not typical of modern Turkey in terms of demographics, although it is comparable with the demographic structure of 1980s Turkey. It is seen that the failure of the neighborhood to keep up with the country can be associated with the widespread poverty of the district, as well as the discrimination that Roma people in the neighborhood face in almost every aspect of life.

The aim of this study is to consider ethnic restaurants in Çankaya, Ankara, as being a transnational space, as well as the significance for immigrants of the dishes served. The findings of the study, which are based on semi-structured interviews with the immigrant customers and restaurateurs of these ethnic restaurants, demonstrate the meaning and role of food and ethnic restaurants in how immigrants adapt to their new lives in Ankara by maintaining a permanence in their new city. For participants of the study, ethnic restaurants are not just places that satisfy their hunger, but which also play cultural and social functions and provide a form of self-identity. It can be said that immigrants use these restaurants in two ways: as a refuge that reminds them of their homeland, and as a space for the creation of new social networks and the expression of their cultural identities. The article uses these findings to explore the theme of ‘feeling at home’, which comes from a form of ‘gastro-nostalgia’ created by the taste and smells of the national or ethnic food served in the restaurants, as well as from the familiar objects and decorations. The second main theme that is seen from the findings is the feeling of being a ‘host’ through these restaurants. Participants expressed a sense of ‘being in their own space’ when they bring guests who are not from their own nation or ethnic group to these restaurants. In this sense, through these restaurants, immigrants can play an active role in introducing a piece of themselves, namely their food and cultural atmosphere, to others.

Neoliberal policies, including ones relating to health, education, and urban transformation, impact various aspects of daily life in Turkey. Gentrification is a prominent topic in discussions and research which considers the question of how urban transformation practices in the context of gentrification affect economic and social life. The neighbourhood of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, an area of urban transformation in the Yenimahalle district of Ankara, was examined to investigate this question. The first phase of this renovation project was completed in 2011 through the collaboration of Yenimahalle Municipality and the private sector, specifically the YDA construction company. This study uses semi-structured interviews with 47 participants to analyse the perspectives and experiences of the local residents and individuals who use the social facilities on a daily basis. The first interlocutors of urban transformation, former slum owners, believe that the purpose of transformation is economic profit. This group consider the new environment being offered to them as being little more than a modern slum. According to the participants who relocated to the region after the urban transformation, while the project was successful due to the location of the region, they felt that the transformation should have been carried out in a more equitable manner. Additionally, those who use the social living space built in accordance with the region’s dynamics after the urban transformation, report an increase in the mobility of the region and that they feel safe while using the facilities. It was therefore seen that the individuals who utilise communal spaces believe that urban regeneration is highly advantageous for the area. Based on the findings of the research, it was established that economic considerations are prioritised in the implementation of urban regeneration projects, which result in the creation of new areas of dilapidation. As urban regeneration initiatives, in addition to physical revitalisation, may lead to consequences such as increased profit and gentrification, finding common points of agreement for the demands and expectations of all stakeholders and users can increase the success of urban transformation initiatives.

This study analyses the networks of grassroots associations which constitute the solidarity economy food chains in Ankara. It is based on a one–year ethnographic study that considered the activities of these networks and connected the ethnographic findings to broader global dynamics related to food chains. The association and networks involved are first described, with a focus on their practices and purposes, and similar cases in other cities in the literature are determined to reach a general conclusion. The main findings of the research are that grassroots associations in Ankara, as with ones triangulated with the existing literature, have a significant impact on the connections between the city and its citizens, as well as between urban and rural areas, by developing alternative practices of food production and exchange. These practices originate from the perceived impoverishment of urban spaces in relation to the loss of both green and farming areas, in addition to local traditional knowledge related to food. Although the social networks of these associations are relatively limited, there is significant potential in terms of advocacy and sensibilization. Moreover, there was growth in critical approaches to urban food and environmental policies during the period of our research due to crises over food prices and COVID-19. The resilience shown by these networks during such times of crisis, as well as their capacity to focus on structural weakness of the food chains in general, and of Ankara urban development model in particular, emphasise the contemporary political relevance of these practices and ideas.

In 1941, the architectural project competition launched for the design of the proposed mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or “Anıtkabir,” attracted significant interest from Italian architects. The entry from Arnaldo Foschini was one of the three entries which won the first prize, with designs by other Italian architects — Gino Franzi, Giuseppe Vaccaro, and Giovanni Muzio —being awarded honorable mentions. Marcello Piacentini, the most prominent figure of the Italian architectural scene during the Mussolini period, enthusiastically greeted the results, and the competition received significant coverage in the Italian daily press and architectural magazines. However, the real interest in the competition was behind the scenes and at much higher levels of the regime. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Popular Culture, which was responsible for propaganda activities abroad, closely monitored the competition process. High-level diplomatic contacts took place following the results in which the Italian Foreign Affairs lobbied the Turkish authorities in their realization of Foschini’s winning project, as well as for the use of Italian construction materials and workforce and the awarding of other Italian entries.
The study aims to uncover the political, economic, architectural, and cultural significance of the Anıtkabir competition from the perspective of Mussolini’s Italy. The article also seeks to reveal the lobbying and propaganda activities carried out by Italian authorities regarding this competition. The research is based on archival studies conducted at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archive, the Italian State Archive, and the Marcello Piacentini Archive Fund of the University of Florence. Analysis is provided in chronological order of the various archival documents discovered during the research, including official correspondences, reports, press releases, and personal letters. The study also examines Turkish and Italian architectural magazines and newspapers published during that period and includes Foschini’s previously unpublished initial drawings for Anıtkabir. Finally, the article discusses Piacentini’s approach to the competition and investigates the contributions of post-war Italy to the final project.

The idea of community in sociospatial studies, which emerges from territorial explanations rooted in rural settlements, has become less well defined due to urbanization. In the complex structure of modern cities, while community can be generally considered in terms of the social networks of members, the territorial dimensions of living environments persist within the new generic city structure. This is because while the sense of community may be constructed socially through relations, the ideological territorial status remains instrumental, especially for local governments who define and control the physical boundaries of communities. This paper considers the tension between the ideological and social conceptions of community in an attempt to understand how the idea of community is spatially manifested by local governments. The paper also discusses how this manifestation leads to the instrumentalization of architecture by local governments in the construction of a particular sense of community and the enhancement of political influence. Accordingly, the spatial typologies for the construction of community proposed by the local governments of Çankaya and Keçiören – Çankaya Evi & Mahalle Konağı - are compared. In terms of socioeconomics and ideology, the two districts are historically two opposing poles in the capital of the Turkish Republic. This is clearly seen in the proposed symbolic, spatial, and programmatic community house typologies. The distinctive architectural symbols and namings by the two local governments of the community housing of both districts clearly exemplify the importance of the notion of community for local governments, as well as how the concept is utilized ideologically through spatial practices.

Between the Late Ottoman Period and the Republic, furniture factories, workshops, and stores that produced and sold modern furniture, all used various sales policies to advertise their brands and production. These advertisements were placed in various forms of written and visual media such as newspapers, magazines, invitations, flyers, textbooks, and telephone directories. While many of these forms of media are still used in advertising, telephone directories, indispensable in every household until the mid-1990s, have become obsolete and are now merely an object of nostalgia.
Although the advertisements of furniture factories/workshops/stores have been partially considered in the historiography of modern interior spaces, there is no scientific publication which considers advertisements in telephone directories. However, telephone directories, also referred to as yellow/white pages, are a primary source of companies’ contact information, and also allow yearly developments in the furniture sector to be followed. This study focuses on the advertisements of furniture businesses in the capital by examining Ankara telephone directories dated between 1930 and 1960. The directories were discussed under three headings: the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Within these headings, advertisements were examined in terms of the language, target audience, and discourses and visuals, without any attempt to perform a content analysis. In some cases, advertisements in different media forms were included in the narrative. It was determined that while the furniture sector in Ankara developed over the years, furniture factories/workshops/stores did not use the advertising spaces in the directories effectively. Salti Franko, Salahaddin Refik, Sebat Carpenter Factory, Haracci Brothers, Hatay Furniture, and Anatolian Furniture Market were amongst the businesses that advertised in the directories using advertisements with rational messages which reflected the taste and discourses of the period.