The purpose of this study is to situate Ankara’s Atatürk (Keçiören) Sanatorium, an overlooked yet significant example of modern healthcare architectural heritage, within the broader healthcare infrastructure of mid-twentieth-century Türkiye. Architectural evaluations of sanatoria have mostly focused on their earlier phases (1850s–1930s), with limited attention paid to their transformation during the mid-twentieth century into multi-layered hospital complexes with intricate infrastructural networks shaped by new treatment methods and social agendas. The Atatürk Sanatorium provides an ideal case to address this gap. The study’s methodology and approach were based on archival research (including periodicals, maps, photographs, and official records), visual documentation, and on-site architectural analysis, which enabled a comprehensive understanding of the sanatorium’s phased and layered infrastructure along four respects: (1) therapeutic-hygienic architecture, (2) construction and retrofitting technologies, (3) surgical and pharmaceutical innovations, and (4) medico-social strategies and occupational therapy. Tuberculosis control efforts, which were a priority in Türkiye’s healthcare policies, were reorganized in the mid-twentieth century. At a time when many parts of the world were moving away from conventional treatments, the construction of a new sanatorium was not incidental: the building became one of the region’s designated tuberculosis control centers. The findings reveal that, in its new functional and symbolic role as a tuberculosis facility, the Atatürk Sanatorium faced the pressure to follow contemporary international treatment advances and adapt its architectural program accordingly. The conventional sanatorium model, based on long-term isolation, hygienic-dietetic regimes, therapeutic environments, and aseptic design principles, adapted to and incorporated technical retrofits, technological adaptations, and pharmaceutical advances in healthcare and sustainable anti-tuberculosis services. The originality and value of this research lies in positioning the Atatürk Sanatorium as a multi-layered infrastructure. By reading through its many layers, this study provides a nuanced historiography and a holistic understanding of sanatorium and healthcare architecture.

Urban transformation emerges as a multi-layered domain of governance that reshapes not only the built environment but also social relations, everyday experiences, and the meanings attached to urban space. By approaching urban transformation from an affective governance perspective, this study examines how such processes operate in Türkiye through mechanisms that reorganise memory, belonging, and claims to spatial justice among urban residents. Taking the Saraçoğlu Neighborhood in Ankara as a case study, the research analyses how this area associated with Early Republican ideals of civic life has been reframed through neoliberal transformation policies and risk discourses. Based on a qualitative research design, data were collected in 2025 through online open-ended questions from 79 participants with diverse social positions in Ankara. The experiences of the participants reveal how the transformation process is shaped through affective configurations that structure memory narratives, senses of attachment, and perceptions of exclusion. The research findings reveal that the transformation is governed through an oscillation between hope and disappointment; that spatial memory is not directly erased but rather suspended by being deprived of its spatial counterparts; and that new consumption-oriented use scenarios deeply undermine the sense of belonging and spatial justice. By moving beyond accounts that frame urban transformation primarily as a technical, spatial, or economic intervention, this study renders the constitutive role of affective governance in contemporary transformation practices in Türkiye and contributes to discussions on more inclusive and justice-oriented urban policies.

With the proclamation of the Republic and Ankara’s designation as the capital, the city’s urban developmentand planning process was brought to the fore; this process began to take shape in line with the principles of modern planning. This study examines the planning decisions made for the Necatibey Neighborhood—one of the historical settlement areas of Ulus—throughout the 20th century, in relation to the dominant planning approaches of each period. The aim of the study is to analyze the planning decisions of the selected periods based on the criteria of planning approach, block layout, land use and number of floors, street network system, conservation approach, and “Necatibey Neighborhood in planning”, in order to identify the points of continuity and rupture among these decisions. To analyze the changes in planning approaches, three main periods were defined and the relevant literature was reviewed. The plans, plan reports, and maps of each period were examined, and these maps and plans were digitized for analytical purposes. In this context, the study covers the planning process between the 1924 Lörcher Plan, the 1938 Necatibey Neighborhood Fire Zone Plan, the 1957 Yücel-Uybadin Plan, and the 1961 Regional Floor-Zoning Plan. The findings indicate that the transition from the Lörcher Plan to the Yücel–Uybadin Plan does not represent a sharp rupture, but rather a process in which continuity and discontinuities are intertwined. Consequently, the change in planning approaches should be interpreted not as a linear paradigm shift, but as a multi-layered and complex process.

In the context of urban development processes, zoning pollution is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that refers to profit-oriented, and irregular forms of construction that arise regardless of urban planning principles, the fundamentals of urbanism and the public interest. This situation profoundly affects and destroys not only the physical environment of cities but also their social fabric, spatial integrity, and public space usage patterns. Ankara, the capital city of Türkiye, the high-rise and fragmented construction concentrated especially in and around the Beytepe, İncek, Ovacık, Göksu, and Oran neighborhoods, as well as along the Eskişehir and Konya highways, concretely demonstrates the spatial reflections of this phenomenon. On the other hand, commercial and residential megaprojects disrupt the city skyline and create an extraordinary demand for services, generating a butterfly effect throughout the city. The aim of this study is to examine the multidimensional structure of zoning pollution that emerged in Ankara between 2000 and 2025 within a holistic approach and to reveal its spatial distribution through analyses based on a GIS-based database. The findings revealed that the study areas of Beytepe, İncek, Ovacık, Göksu, and Oran, characterized by low-density and rural land-use patterns prior to 2010, transformed into high-rise urban developments, particularly after 2015, as a result of planning decisions. It was observed that urban development was concentrated around the main transportation axes, and that vertical construction exhibited in a pattern that did not conform to the existing urban fabric. The findings of the study show that zoning pollution is a phenomenon that affects urban life in different ways through its physical, spatial, social, economic, environmental, and administrative dimensions. The study is significant because it provides a detailed evaluation of spatial development and building density through GIS-based analysis, discusses the multi-dimensional effects of zoning pollution, and offers concrete policy recommendations for improving planning processes.

This study aims to evaluate the potential of the Turkish-Islamic architectural heritage from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods in the Ulus quarter of Ankara within the context of sustainable tourism, based on the views and experiences of local residents. In this study, cultural heritage is addressed through the dimensions of social memory, visit motivation, tourist attraction and promotion, awareness of Turkish-Islamic architecture, conservation of cultural heritage, and the role of the local community. The study was designed based on a qualitative research approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 participants residing in Ankara who had experienced the Ulus quarter. Interviews were conducted either face-to-face or via voice communication tools. The data were analyzed through descriptive analysis supported by open coding and interpreted under the themes of general perception and personal experience, views on the Ulus quarter, value-sustainability-promotion, and participation and development suggestions. The findings reveal that the social memory associated with Ankara does not adequately reflect the city’s multilayered historical and cultural depth. Nevertheless, there is a strong local consensus that Ulus, as the historical core of the city, plays a significant role in shaping Ankara’s urban identity. The study demonstrates that although Turkish-Islamic architectural heritage constitutes an important cultural asset, it is not sufficiently recognized by local residents. In addition, despite the quarter’s tourism potential, it cannot be fully realized due to inadequate promotion, visibility problems, and deficiencies in the physical environment. Furthermore, participants emphasized that guided tours, thematic routes, and informative practices could enhance the visibility of this heritage and strengthen the quarter of Ulus as a cultural tourism destination. In this respect, the study makes an original contribution to the literature by demonstrating, in the case of Ankara, that the ways in which cultural heritage is represented in social memory are directly related to the levels of touristic awareness and use. Within the scope of the research, a sample sustainable tourism-oriented cultural walking route covering the historical and cultural heritage assets of Ulus was also developed. This proposal is considered to both increase the visibility of cultural heritage and contribute to sustainable tourism practices that encourage local community participation.