Public or Private! Analysing Commercial Street of Hayat Sokağı, Ankara, Turkey

With the expansion of consumption culture, the meaning of public space shifted from accessible socialization areas to segregated semiprivate commercial areas. Due to capital accumulation, a gradual transition of the status quo of urban commons to privatized ones has emerged. Shopping malls, as closed boxes, amplified the dichotomy in the public/private place discussion by creating a controversial sense of public place in private ownership. At the same time, in-between space as an abstract term in architecture, illustrates the transition from public program to private program. Therefore, in line with the concept of the in-between space, this study seeks to discuss public-private space transition in the case of Hayat Sokagi (Life Street) in Ankara, Turkey. Hayat Sokagi is designed as an activity area that meets the entrances of two shopping malls on the pedestrian axis within the scope of mixed-use. The study analyses two different parts of Hayat Sokagi through planning documents and direct observation methodology. While one part is right in between two buildings and has controlled access, the following part represents a more accessible part. The research questions the functionality of the street in terms of the notion of in-between space and the impact of architectural form, as street, on the perception of social life and impact on human activities and use.