Public open space (POS) bears prominent imprints of both the negative and positive effects of urban
change. The public space development strategies play a fundamental role in the protection,
promotion, and enhancement of POSs. This article examines the evolution of the POSs of
Ankara within the development history from 1923 to 2017. This study shows that while the POS
development of the city was addressed as an integrative and comprehensive structure in the
entire city by the Lo¨rcher (1924–1925) and Jansen (1932) plans, the subsequent plans’ approaches
were more superficial, piecemeal, and simplistic about protecting existing POSs.