Formation of the city image : the role of the train station in the image formation process of Ankara

Abstract

This thesis handles the city as a dynamic network of places and people, and investigates the concept of the image of the city. Early republican Ankara, the capital of Turkey, was chosen as the case of this investigation for an extensive understanding of the concept. The study is structured according to the components of the image of the city that were proposed by Kevin Lynch. Formations of these three components (identity, structure and meaning) are explained to be overlapping with the three phases (envisioning, planning, experiencing) of the formation of the city. Depending on the assumption that the buildings play the fundamental role in these formations, contribution of the Train Station to the formation of Ankara and its image is examined. The building, one of the most significant artifacts of the early republican Ankara, was studied in means of its contribution to the components of the image. With its spatial entity, the building reflected the modern identity of the city. Orienting the movement and development within its setting, it constituted an indispensable element of the structure of the capital. Furthermore, the station, as a building of prestige, accommodated contemporary practices and provided civilized conditions. The experience of these practices and conditions within the building, which was now an urban public space beyond being only a station, lead to attachment of its people to the station and to the city.