Luxury housing projects and sustainability in Ankara

II. ULUSLARARASI SÜRDÜRÜLEBİLİR YAŞAM KONGRESİ, Ankara, Türkiye, 19 - 20 Mart 2021, ss.71-79

Since the 1980s, many changes have occurred in spatial, economic, and political areas around the

world. With the increase in industrialization, migration from rural to urban has increased and

population accumulation has occurred. The gradual increase in the world population, the rapid

urbanization brought about by globalization, and the destruction of the ecological environment that

develops as a result of these cause problems that are very difficult to return. For this reason, the concept

of sustainability emerged in the 1970s to protect the natural environment and leave a livable

environment for future generations. Since sustainability is a very wide and comprehensive subject,

many studies have been carried out by different disciplines and at different scales to develop this

concept. The most basic definition of sustainability is known as meeting the needs of today without

endangering the needs of future generations. According to Manderson, sustainability is a universal

principle common to all systems and these systems must adapt to changing conditions and requirements

to ensure sustainability (Manderson, 2006). According to Bagheri and Hjorth, sustainability should be

considered as a process, not a goal to be achieved. In this process, sustainability should be seen as a part

of daily life. Besides, like classical science problems, the problem should not be divided into elements,

but a solution should be produced by taking it as a whole. According to the authors, in the concept of

sustainability, which includes different systems such as economy, environment, and society, the

relationship of these systems and their effects on each other should be considered (Hjorth & Bagheri,

2006). Sustainability has been a concept that first emerged to reduce negative environmental impacts.

Afterward, it has been handled with many dimensions such as economic, cultural, and social. Within

the scope of this study, it is aimed to evaluate the social dimension of sustainability within the framework

of luxury housing projects emerging in the Incek Neighborhood. In this context, the definition of the

concept of social sustainability will be tried to be made in the following section. In the next section,

after the method of the study is explained, the historical development of the Incek neighborhood in

Ankara will be summarized. After the luxury housing projects in the Incek neighborhood are evaluated

in terms of social sustainability, the study will be terminated with the conclusion section.