Rural-to-urban migration has been one of the demographic processes accompanying modernization and industrialization in many developing cities. The movement of population from rural areas to urban centers increases the spatial concentration of labor and economic activity, shaping the growth and structure of cities. However, the critical factor is not migration itself, but how this demographic transition is spatially accommodated through property relations, parcel structures, and settlement practices.
The Mehmet Akif-Demetevler-Demetlale-Demetgül transitional zone in Yenimahalle, Ankara illustrates the spatial outcomes of this process. Informal settlements have gradually acquired legal status and been replaced by apartment blocks; yet this formalization did not produce a corresponding improvement in spatial continuity or public space structure. This condition is described in the study as “Legal Status ≠ Spatial Quality,” indicating a post-formal urban situation in which legal transformation does not automatically generate spatial quality.
From a structural perspective, this condition can be interpreted through the base–superstructure relationship. While the legal and planning framework (superstructure) has changed through formalization, the underlying spatial logic shaped by property patterns, parcel subdivision, and incremental development (base) has remained fragmented. The project analyzes these conditions through morphological change, public space continuity, and socio-spatial accessibility, and proposes spatial strategies that reconnect fragmented urban elements through strengthened public interfaces, productive landscapes, and neighborhood-scale social infrastructure.