Residents’ Awareness of Urban and Social Living Quality: The Example of Prof. Dr. Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Neighborhood in Çayyolu/Ankara

Since 1980, the dynamics of globalization have directed the processes of social, cultural, and political adjustment as well as those of economic integration and especially capital towards urban development, forming urban space. The wave of globalization in Turkey, within a process of economic change in the context of neo liberal policies, urban space has been turned into the most profitable area of investment in the unearned income (economic rent) sector. The residential sector has been included in this process quickly and easily through effective and widespread marketing strategies. Over the last two decades of this development, the Ankara-Çayyolu District has become segregated economically and socially between its upper and upper-middle class residents in the urban context. This segregation is evident in residential areas with high-level physical and spatial quality. On the other hand, in addition to the measurable physical and spatial standards of housing quality, it is also important to find out if the quality of living meets the social and cultural expectations of its residents. Starting from this point of view, we examine residents’ perceptions of their physical and social environment in our chosen sample area in the Prof. Dr. Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Neighborhood, and their demands and awareness of housing quality. The story of this neighborhood, which begins in 1980, at a time when neo liberal policies and the power to form urban space was all-important, is defined here by the residents’ quality of living and awareness of it. Our results obtained are expected to help guide the creation of liveable housing areas in the future.Keywords: \udHousing Users, Urban Living Quality, Social Living, Awareness, Ankara- Çayyolu-Prof. Dr. Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Neighborhood