The aim of this study is to discuss how an effective governance process should be established for Atatürk Forest Farm’s (AFF) urban policies, spatial planning, and the implementation thereof. The first stage of the process is to discuss complex systems and governance concepts in spatial planning. In the second stage, the transformation process of AFF between 1925 and 2022 was analyzed in three different periods through considering existing literature and the archival research of various institutions in terms of key historical, spatial, legal, and administrative matters. In each period, a number of practices were examined, namely: transfer/sale legislation related to the area; practices, such as leasing activities, zoning plans, and planning changes regarding the disposal of land; decisions related to protected areas and urban transformation; spatial interventions made regarding renewal areas; and actors contributing to these interventions and the transformations experienced. In the third and final stage, solutions are proposed for how a decision process approach should be developed for the effective governance in the spatial development and transformation of AFF.