Understanding Turkey's political and social transformation through via squares: The case of Ulus and Kızılay

In this study, the transformation of city squares, which has an important place in public spaces, with the examples of Ulus Square and Kızılay Square was examined based on Lefebvre's theory of the production of space. With the Republican Period, the consolidation process of the nation-state accelerated and the spatial policy was previously evaluated within this framework. However, over time, the dynamics of the development of capitalism and some unique developments in Turkey have brought about contradictions between the envisaged space and social dynamics from time to time, and the transformation and shaping of city squares has developed within the framework of these contradictions and dynamics. In this respect, it is possible to evaluate the social transformation in Turkey through public spaces. Especially Ankara is one of the most remarkable cities where this transformation can be observed. For this reason, Kızılay and Ulus Squares, which are among the most important urban public spaces in Ankara, are taken as examples. Since the scope of the study covers a wide period, the study is divided into various sub-periods and each sub-period was evaluated by considering its own socio-political and socio-economic dynamics. In this context, the economic situation of the period, domestic and foreign policy developments and the political preferences of the period were examined and the transformation of the space in this process was taken into account. Primary and secondary documents were evaluated and interpreted. At the end of the study, a general evaluation was made and the bibliography was stated. Keywords: Public Space, City Square, Space Policy, Ulus Square, Kızılay Square.