STREAM DAYLIGHTING:
AN OPERATIVE LANDSCAPE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ANKARA
AN OPERATIVE LANDSCAPE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ANKARA
Urban morphological transformations are guided by urban infrastructures. Throughout the 20th century, urban streams disappeared from city landscapes due to infrastructure interventions. Worldwide urban practices involved channelizing and culverting small streams, transforming them into sewage lines. However, these small streams have a crucial role since they feed the entire river basin. Today, countries face water scarcity, water pollution, and floods as a result of climate change and urbanization. Redirecting the river into a concrete channel, severing its connection with the soil, has resulted in significant decreases in groundwater levels. Furthermore, it has detached natural landscape elements within the city and prompted urban sprawl into rural areas.
A shift towards nature-based engineering and design solutions has gained momentum. Stream daylighting is one way to approach this by reopening the covered streams in cities worldwide. Stream daylighting projects serve a variety of purposes, including flood prevention, transitioning to decentralized sewage systems, optimizing treatment facilities, enhancing human-nature interaction, and promoting biodiversity and groundwater. Worldwide examples of stream daylighting have been examined in the context of urban landscape ecology and economics.
The streams, which played a vital role in Ankara's early settlement, have now disappeared. The capital has grappled with flooding and infrastructure challenges, exacerbated by rapid urbanization and unearned income. This study delves into the historical relationship between infrastructure and lost urban streams throughout the history of the republic. The analysis draws from city maps and various reports from the State Hydraulic Works and the Municipality. It culminates in the unveiling of the map of disappeared streams of Ankara, covering a 100 km² area within the city center. Furthermore, potential sites for stream daylighting were identified, outlining three landscape typologies for Ankara.
ENVISIONING A FRAMEWORK FOR STREAM DAYLIGHTING IN ANKARA
study area
chart 1
chart 2
The dIstance of dIsappeared streams
