PRINCIPLE 1 : EQUITABLE USE

The design should be useful to people with diverse abilities.Unfortunately that equatable use princible wasn't thought at most of the place in Ankara. While giving design desicions elderly and disabled people had been forgetten most of the time. Especially for a ortopedical disabled person living in Ankara is too hard. Elevators in subway station in Kızılay are very good examples of that case. Designer had been thought of disabled people and put a disabled elevator in the subway station ,however elevators don't go exactly to the top floor. Upmost floor that they carry people is again at underground. So it is a must for a disabled person to use stairs after using elevator. Besides elevators are broken most of the time.

Another example for cases which make their life harder due to architectural mistakes is the limited number of slopes. The way which goes from the library to rectorate building in Metu can be given as an example for that case. It is apparent that designer hadn't thought of ortopedically handicapped person while design the path.There is slope next to the stairs however it is too slopped for even people with abilities. Disabled person must go through the main road if she or he wants to go to the rectorate building from the library.

And also the height of pavements is big problem, it makes harder them to get on and off the pavement. To sum up in Ankara there are lots of mistakes ,which makes life harder for them all the time, as subway elevators, number of slopes and height of pavements.

PRINCIPLE 2 : FLEXIBILITY IN USE

The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities. A design should include different individual or common preferences and competencies. In urban spaces, they should be flexible in order to fit into different purpose of using. Increasing the possibility of using a space will enrich it and make it definitely multi-functional. This spatial quality should be provided by not separating it strictly, on the contrary, it should have both unity and separation when it is necessary.

Urban spaces, generally, should have that flexibility to correspond the needs of community by being a park next to having some exhibition areas or performance platforms. Unfortunately, like other cities, Ankara does not have many spaces as mentioned above. The concert halls, parks, exhibitions are all differentiated by means of both buildings and sites.

It would be correct to support that opinion with three examples of it. Firstly, Guvenpark in Kizilay can be shown. It is only a park that was created in order to provide a place for people to rest and relax. However, nowadays it works as just a waiting area and as not a relaxing space at all. It has only banks and green spaces creating a park and not flexible for other kind of activities.

Secondly, Kugulupark in Tunali Hilmi is also one of the single-functional spaces with its quality as only a park but nothing else. Although it is small in scale compared to many urban parks, it could have been used as public exhibition at some point.

Finally, Gokkusagi can be considered as the worst example of urban spaces in Ankara. It is nor a necessity for Bahcelievler area at all. It is generally an eating area, although it is near to the 7^th avenue. Besides its needlessness, it is just a space to eat and sit around. It is small in scale as well and does not contain much circulation area in it. Therefore, it cannot provide any space for any other activity. Even it does, its location is not appropriate for anything, because it is surrounded by heavy traffic flow and high level of noise.

As a result, this functionality should be designed previously in order to create greater spatial organization, especially while considering the urban spaces.

PRINCIPLE 3 : SIMPLE AND INTUITIVE USE

A design must be understandable without the user’s experience, knowledge, capability of language and ability of momentarily focus . It should refrain the confusing elements and complexity in order to be universal. There has been plenty of developments in Turkey about this rule of design (Demir,2006 p.69).

However, In Ankara there some common places, which are also used by foreigners, that cannot satisfy the needs of the rule of simplicity and intuitivism. The metro station is one of the biggest example for that. There are many people that cannot find the place of the railway in the metro passage. Besides they also do not know which railway they will use, since there are two(one of them is named Ankaray which may put a passenger very unwanted places). Because of the fact that the metro corridors are not design to make people find the places instinctively, lots of people lost their way in metro corridors. These corridors are also used as a shelter in heavy weathers but they are so complex that sometimes while passing people cannot find the true stairs to go up. To sum up, Ankara’s Metro stations are confusing and not simple enough to make people feel that they can find their way easily.

PRINCIPLE 4 : PERCEPTIBLE INFORMATION

The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities. The readability of basic information should be provided at the highest level. The design should be differentiated in order to be explained to the user easily. The product, by including the users with sensory limitations, should also have the interfaces and techniques to ensure compatibility.

With the principle of defining space perceptibly, the designer should act like that no one would be informed about the function of that space. The space which is designed considerably should speak for itself and reflect its function of use to people clearly. In order to give that quality to a designed product, the differentiation of it should be pre-thought and included while it is still in design process.

In Ankara, the green are in front of the hall named Panora has no function that is reflected to the users clearly. It looks like a ‘park’ but is not working in that manner. It is generally providing a green view from the balconies and restaurants of Panora, which is really not a necessity at all. By designing it, may be it is thought that it can work as a common area in good weathers. However, in reality, no one choose to sit there instead of going in the mall. In addition, the view of the mall has already a wide green perspective naturally, and do not need that artificial area to ruin the existing one.

PRINCIPLE 5 : TOLERANCE FOR ERROR

The design should minimizes hazards and the adverse consequencesof accidentalor unintended actions. However, cases like stakes,rising bollards, chains, parkings on the pavement are really big problems in Ankara.They may cause lots of accidental actions.

Also distorted paths and pavements can be added to these.The park next to Çarşı in Metu is a good example for that argument.There are paths which were made by stones. But stones are broken most of the time and is not suitable for walking comfortably on it.They may make people trip and fall easily.The other example of that case in the park is lack of balustrade next to the river. Although there is a slope through the river there is no barrier.That situation may cause accidental and unintended actions any time.

And another example is wrong material choice in path ways. Some paths include stones which become slippery with the rainfall as in many parks in Ankara. Thus in rainy days accidents are inevitable most of the time for people walking on these paths.

PRINCIPLE 6 : LOW PHYSICAL EFFORT

According to this principle of universal design, one design should be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue. The user should not be forced to keep his/her body in unnatural positions. The product of design should be worked with the acceptable degree of force applied by the users. The product should not require repetitive behaviors. The applied forces should be short-termed in order not to cause excessive fatigue.

In Ankara, this principle is contradicted generally and that can be connected to the absence of slopes or the traffic issues.

For the slope of topography, the castle of Ankara would be the best example of it. It is an ancient building and also a common area of both this and that ages, located on top of a hill. Because of the fact that, at that time, it should have been protected and be hard to reach, it has many stairs made up of stones. However, nowadays, the castle and inside of it is used as a touristic and historical place which should be easily reached. Thus, the stairs of this time, of course by protecting the original existence, can be supported by some ramps or some smaller stair attachments by means of reducing the physical effort which is spent by the visitors. Also, some spiral ramps around the slope may decrease the percentage of its steepness.

On the other hand, the traffic in Ankara may cause some problems in this point. For instance, there are some overpasses seen mostly in Kizilay and the ones in here are the ones that is used least. This kind of behavior of people can be explained by the rush of daily works, and people generally prefer to pass by the roads which even do not have any traffic lights for pedestrians at some point. This fact is very understandable when the conditions of the overpasses are regarded carefully. Most of them, especially the one located above Mesrutiyet Avenue, has large numbers of steps and they are very steep. Therefore, people do not prefer to climb up and spend effort on them.

Instead of the whole stairs, there may be also some escalators next to the normal ones. Of course, the maintenance and repairs should be done regularly to keep them working.

PRINCIPLE 7 : SIZE AND SPACE FOR APPROACH AND USE

A design must succeed the rule of size and space for approach and use. A proper space must be considered for the user’s body measurements, postures and movements. Both for the sitting and standing users, the design must have proper shape. Turkish architects in Ankara had the experience of that in these years. (Demir, 2006, p.71)

But still some parks has so many problems about that issue. The hard surfaces in some parks are so narrow that two people can hardly pass.

To illustrate the road that passes next to dolmush destinations is not proper for the citizens that is it is juxtaposed to the vehicular road.

In Odtü the pavements near the KKM and the pavement lies along the rectorship building to the A1 entrance have a bunch of trees in the middle. This makes it difficult to use the pavement for students. The stone floor covering around the KKM circle and the C statue does not let a person carrying other disabled one’s chair walk easily.

The overcrossing in Kızılay which connects the Meşrutiyet street and flower’s shop is another example. The stairs of it is a real problem both for two people walking and large people.

There are also problems in Gençlik Parkı in Ulus. There is a big lake like pool in the park. While designing the bridge like passages’ slopes above the pool, it is not considered that humans will use them, which means they too much upright to walk along.

Besides the tourniquets of the amusement park are narrow for a people who is larger or having a obesity problems. To sum up there are certain problem that cannot satisfy the needs of human size for space in Ankara’s public spaces.