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Towards a cultural revitalisation policy for the central and peripheral areas of Athens by V. Gavrielatos

1. The contemporary problems of Athens

The intense post-war reconstruction of the 50s and 60s resulted in an unprecedented destruction of the 120 year old city centre which was characterised by the coherent neo-classical character of its two-to-three storey houses, and the human scale of its public spaces, where only the important public buildings stood out.

The sites were filled with 6 to 8 storey modern blocks which covered them completely and gave the city a monotonous faceless aspect and densities that surpassed by far the potential of the pre-existing urban fabric. From the cumulative effect of the above mentioned urban development process are issued the contemporary environmental problems.

The environmental problems are basically dealing with the unavailability of land for the development of open space and public facilities both in the growing periphery and in the older districts of the city where the increase of density generated a new need for public space and facilities. Transportation Inadequacies and traffic congestion proved to be the most acute of the problems experienced by the capital. The streets built in the 19th and 20th century could not satisfy the growing traffic of automobiles. The basic road network of the urban complex has remained radial with all principal arteries converging to the historic centre which continues to contain the most numerous and important functions of the metropolitan area. The public transportation system became non-functional and inadequate.

The negative conditions were completed by the major air-pollution problem, caused primarily from automobile emissions. Since the early seventies this problem has taken on threatening dimensions. The principal measure for the abatement of air pollution has been the intermittent closing off of the central city, within the "ring", to private cars.

A disastrous effect of the urban system's functional perturbations was the decline of the historic centre. The acute congestion problems, the environmental-architectural degradation, the need for accessibility of this cultural, commercial and business centre, make necessary an active policy for the upgrading of the environment and the unification of archaeological areas.

2. A summary of cultural decentralisation policies

The Municipality of Athens is the driving force behind cultural decentralisation policy within the city. However, it operates in the context of a centralised State and of a centralised cultural activity, mainly determined by the Ministry of Culture. The municipal authority lacks a full range of powers, has limited financial resources and is dependent on central government largesse. The Cultural Centre of the Municipality is a municipal organisation responsible for the cultural activity in Athens. It has its own annual budget - primarily provided by the Municipality - and has about one hundred employees. Within Athens, the Municipality has decentralised some administrative and cultural functions to the District level. There are seven District Councils in Athens each of which has restricted autonomy. Their resource base is minimal, they have no effective funds to implement their own policies and they generally lack implementation power. However, they participate in the process of decentralised cultural regeneration and improvement of neighbourhood's social life. The Youth and Sports Organisation (YSO) is a municipal organisation responsible for the delivery of sports, cultural and social services in Athens. It has an annual budget of 2,3 billion drachmas (1992) - primarily provided by the Municipality - and has 649 employees. It manages sports facilities, cultural centres, youth centres and children's playgrounds throughout Athens. As a part of the Municipality's city-wide strategy to regenerate neighbourhoods throughout the city, cultural decentralisation is an important factor of the Municipal Action Plan.

The municipal Action Plan aims at the recuperation of the historic and cultural character of the city and its aesthetic uplifting, the environmental protection and rehabilitation with emphasis on combating air pollution and extending the green and open spaces, the reduction of traffic and the improvement of public transportation, the improvement of the technological and productive base of the city with respect to environment and business, and the improvement of daily life.

3. Cultural life in two different neighbourhoods: The inner-city area and the periphery case-studies

3.1 Defining and selecting the neighbourhood case-studies

An effective approach of cultural decentralisation in urban areas involves the study of the inner-city and the periphery. Most of all, it involves the identification of autochthon cultural resources present in today's neighbourhoods. In Athens it is possible to define two typical neighbourhood case-studies.

The first is the Athens Historic District, a culturally rich neighbourhood, where cultural facilities and activities are traditionally concentrated. It is also the field of the Athens most important cultural plan: the unification of archaeological areas and open space. The second is the Patissia area, a typical peripheral neighbourhood of the municipality, culturally deprived. It is an area where the Municipality applies a Pilot Project for the neighbourhood revitalisation, aiming at the cultural revitalisation at a local level as well as the improvement of environmental, social and economic conditions.

3.2 Historical, social and economic profile of the neighbourhood

This section provides a brief historical account of the neighbourhood's development, and accurate and up-to-date information on the neighbourhood's most significant data.

3.2.1 The inner-city area: The Athens Historic District (1)

Centrally located within the inner-city area, the Athens Historic District, as defined in the 1979 presidential decree which instituted it, covers an area of approximately 5 square kilometres, extending 2,5 kilometres across from the Archaeological Museum (north) to the railroad lines (West). Within that area in which unfolded the history of Athens from the ancient times to the nineteenth century, are still contained the vast majority of monuments, sites and ruins which bear witness to that history. Its brief history is given below.

3.2.1.1 Historical account of the Inner-city's development

After its destruction by the Persians in 480 - 479 B.C., the ancient city was rebuilt and fortified with a strong wall. The rough circular area contained within the wall, although larger than that of the pre-classical city, did not exceed 1500 m in diameter. Centrally located within the walled area were the Acropolis, as the sanctuary of the city, and the Agora with most of the buildings and open spaces serving the public life of the city. Outside the walls were the cemeteries - Kerameikos being the most significant of them - and the gymnasium such as the Academia and the Lyceum. The classical perimeter of the city was also retained through the Hellenistic period. In 86 B.C. the city's walls were torn down by Roman general Sylla. During the Roman years, Hadrian extended the city to the east and Valerian built new walls to enclose the expanded Roman city; with occasional repair and rebuilding, these continued to be the city's walls through the Byzantine era.

During the Turkish occupation, the city shrank into a small settlement on the north slope of the Acropolis hill, with twisting narrow streets and no public open spaces to speak of. It remained unfortified until 1778, when its governor Hadji Ali Hassekis built a wall, considerably smaller than that of the Roman or Byzantine times, which remained until the Greek war of independence.

The Kleanthis-Schaubert plan, drawn in 1834 when Athens was selected to be the new capital of Greece, scarcely exceed the limits of either the ancient or the medieval city. The plan excluded from urbanisation the section of the Turkish period town closest to the Acropolis to permit archaeological excavations, while the remainder of that town was incorporated in the new plan. That visionary plan, with the wide open avenues and formal squares, although it lost many of its generous features in its revision by Leo von Klenze, left its powerful mark on the geometry of 19th century Athens.

The new-born capital inherited many remnants of its past: the famous monuments of the classical period, but also remnants of the Hellenistic and Roman periods, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. But, proud as it was of its glorious past, 19th century Athens strived to be a modern European city adopting the then dominant neo-classical outlook and idiom. Indeed, it soon acquired many grand public buildings and private mansions designed by the famous architects of Europe and their Greek counter-parts. New residential districts were built in a vernacular style which had assimilated the neo-classical vocabulary and produced refreshingly charming results. Of its 19th century architecture, the Athens Historic District has preserved most of the formal buildings and a number of building groups representing the neo-classical vernacular.

3.1.1.2 The structure of the Athens Historic District

The structure of the Athens Historic District is still governed by the powerful geometry of the Kleanthis-Schaubert plan. This geometry consists of two triangles adjoined along one of their sides, i.e. the north - south axis along Athinas street which introduces the vista of the Acropolis as a dominant element in the structure of the city. Of the three main squares and principal focal points planned for the three summits of this isosceles triangle, the northern and eastern ones coincide with the two historic squares of present-day Athens, respectively Omonoia (Concord) square and Syntagma (Constitution) square. The third square planned for the area of Kerameikos and on which Leo von Klenze, in his revision of the Athens plan, proposed to locate the royal palace, never materialised as the royal palace was finally located on Constitution square and the area of Kerameikos declined at an early stage in the development of the city. In conjunction with the proposed alignment of the Athens Historic District tramway, a special project has already been undertaken by the Municipality aimed at creating the missing focal point of the Kleanthis-Schaubert plan, with a view to also integrate the many archaeological ruins in Kerameikos and the area around it, and provide the necessary impetus for the revival of the Historic District. The Kleanthis-Schaubert plan proposed a grid street pattern for the new areas outside the existing small town. The direction of streets in each area was determined by the axes of the basic geometry of the two triangles.

A generous open space was reserved by the plan around the ancient ruins and the sites on which they were located and still constitutes the principal archaeological area in the Athens Historic District.

3.2.1.3 Land-Use and Function

The area defined by the one of the two triangles of the Kleanthis-Schaubert plan and a zone around its perimeter has evolved into the Central Business District of the Athens metropolis which also includes the seat of the Government.

Despite a decentralisation process which is under way and has caused a considerable amount of activity to move into peripheral centres of the metropolitan area, all functions and activities of some political, social, economic, cultural and symbolic significance still take place within the centre of the Historic District. The area within the triangle alone - excluding its peripheral zone - which is usually referred to as the Commercial Triangle is estimated to provide employment to approximately 100,000 persons, while the number of visitors moving in and out of the triangle on a daily basis is estimated at about 400,000 persons. The population of the Athens Historic District in 1991 was about 110,000. It exceeded 123,000 inhabitants in 1981 - a fall of 25% since 1971.

Although a mixture of central functions is to be found in most parts of the historic centre, there has gradually developed a land-use pattern with a significant degree of sub-area specialisation. Thus, government functions including the house of parliament, the presidential palace, the prime minister's office and the principal ministries are located around Syntagma square; the four main streets running parallel to the Omonoia-Syntagma axis constitute the core of the business district; commerce is to be found over the entire area of the Commercial Triangle with specially and higher quality goods in the eastern section, the less sophisticated commerce in the western section from Omonoia to Monastiraki and a significant presence of light industrial workshops in the south-western section around Monastiraki. Light industrial becomes the predominant use in the second triangle of the centre defined by Omonoia, Monastiraki and Kerameikos.

Traditionally, the two central triangles also accommodated residential as a predominant use. That use has dramatically declined, to the point of total exclusion in the Commercial Triangle in which one hundred apartments are estimated to be remaining. Surrounding the two triangles are the historic residential districts of Athens such as Plaka, Theseion, Kerameikos, Metaxourgeion, Exarcheia, Neapolis, Kolonaki and Ardettos which, wholly or partly, are included in the Athens Historic District. These were the lively and charming residential neighbourhoods of the 19th and early 20th century, which for the most part, have undergone dramatic change since the end of World War II.

Under the pressure of a fast growing metropolis, the Historic District of Athens was rebuilt with greater heights and higher densities. Initially, this meant also an increase in the resident population until the reverse movement started in the seventies and was intensified in the eighties taking the form of a flight to the suburbs. Along with the post-war reconstruction, the historic residential districts were infiltrated - and some of them still are - by uses incompatible with residential, including various forms of industrial and warehousing. Under the blighting influence of incompatible uses, of congestion and all forms of pollution, the residential use has receded in most of these historic districts. Characteristically, it could be mentioned that the present population of Psyrri is estimated at approximately 1500 and that of Metaxourgeion at 13,000 persons. The population of the Municipality of Athens in the period 1981 - 1991 declined from 866,000 to 784,000 or by 15,6%.

3.2.1.4 The Urban Fabric

The urban fabric in the Athens Historic District is a derivative of its 19th century plan combined with its post-war reconstruction. Almost in its entirety, the reconstruction of Athens was done on a lot-by-lot basis, superimposed on the existing pattern of streets and city blocks with practically no change of plan. This form of redevelopment has accumulated a number of very serious problems, including high density, congestion, lack of technical and social infrastructure; but on the other hand, it largely accounts, for the fact that central Athens has retained a healthy and cohesive urban texture with main streets and squares of its 19th century plan, and a more picturesque character in areas which pre-existed to the plan or were developed as working class neighbourhoods. In the small pockets where historic buildings are conserved along with the street pattern, the genuine texture of the 19th century city is still present.

In this context, special mention should be made of the archaeological sites and related open space which breaks the continuity of city blocks and occupies a considerable land area in the very core of the Historic District.

3.2.1.5 Problems of Decline

The reconstruction of the Athens Historic District simply happened with no vision of or regard for what its role and character should be in the context of a new metropolis.

Under the pressure of the unplanned metropolitan growth, a number of negative factors - infiltration of incompatible land uses, traffic congestion, air pollution - started to develop in the Historic district in the sixties, became manifest in the seventies and intensified in the eighties. The blighting influence of these factors has caused a decline process to appear in varying forms and degrees in the various sections of the Historic Centre. In the more depressed sections, the loss of the wealthier population and better business, combined with uncertainty with regard to their future, results in environmental neglect and physical decay which in turn contributes to further economic decline and social degradation. Such are the conditions in the better part of the western half of the Historic District, while the CBD core between Omonoia and Syntagma still retains its vitality and cosmopolitan character despite the acute problems of congestion and air pollution, and despite a growing trend for some of the more sophisticated commercial stores and economically stronger business firms to relocate either in the adjacent district of Kolonaki, (or in one of the burgeoning suburban centres), or along one of the main avenues of the metropolitian area. The decline has also caused the creation of unifunctional pockets which are deserted at night in various sections of the Historic District.

3.2.1.6 Prospects for the renaissance

The above mentioned decline of the Athens Historic District makes necessary an active policy for the upgrading of the environment and the unification of archaeological areas. The goals of the strategy for the renaissance of the Historic District are the following:

3.2.1.7 Revival and Rehabilitation Programs

The revival and rehabilitation of the Historic District requires a broad spectrum of concerted programs. A number of such programs have already been initiated and are in various stages of completion. In the following, a very brief description will be given of the principal programs under way, each of which comprises a great number of component projects, measures and actions.

The Unification of Archaeological Sites and Open Spaces in the Historic District is a very ambitious program which will go a long way toward restoring the historic image of Athens and rehabilitating its fabric in a manner that will greatly improve the quality of life in the city. The general plan sponsored by the Ministry of Culture was recently included in the EC's funding support.

The Upgrading of the Commercial Triangle is a multi-faceted program sponsored by the Municipality of Athens, but aspects of which will be undertaken for implementation by various agencies and organisations.

Some of the program's components are the introduction of effective land-use controls, the measures aiming to attract new residents, as well as other uses (entertainment, cultural facilities) which will keep the area alive at night, the qualitative improvement of the public open space, the creation of a complete pedestrian street system, the improvement of the aesthetic quality of architecture with emphasis on the historic image of the area etc.

The Rehabilitation of the Historic Residential Districts, initiated in the late seventies, with the Plaka rehabilitation, is primarily aiming at land-use controls, significant buildings conservation, physical improvements (pedestrian network, traffic regulation, parking places extension, social buildings accommodation) etc. The Plaka rehabilitation was completed in the mid-eighties. For all other neighbourhoods of the Historic District rehabilitation studies are under way, sponsored by the Municipality.

The under way Tramway System for Historic Athens is a special program sponsored by the Municipality of Athens, aiming to provide the Historic District with a high quality non-pollutant transportation system, a unifying element facilitating linkage between important landmarks, an effective factor of enhancement and aesthetic enjoyment of the city's visual panorama.

3.2.1.8 Rehabilitation of the Keramelkos area

This is a project of very wide scope which has principally three goals:

The project was the object of an architectural competition which was held in 1990 by the Municipality of Athens. The winning entry places particular emphasis on the archaeological considerations and proposes to reunite the sites of the ancient Agora and Kerameikos by excavating the section of the Panathenian Procession route between the Agora and Dipylon, one of the ancient gateways to Athens.

It also proposes a very extensive land acquisition program and demolition of newer buildings to create a vast archaeological park through which both a proposed new plaza and the cultural centre now being developed on the site of the old gas plant of Athens are integrated into one whole. The ultimate phase of the proposed rehabilitation plan for Kerameikos is combined with the proposed tramway route and the Athens Metro extension. The lower section of Ermou street, that the tramway route alignment follows in that area, is projected by the plan to be a pedestrian path through the proposed park.

The first phase of the Kerameikos project includes the following components:

- Restoration and improvement of the metro station at Theseion in conjunction with that of the station at Monastiraki and the linkage between the two through a pedestrian street.

- Expansion of the existing little park at the intersection of Iera Odos and Piraeus street through the condemnation of some dilapidated buildings to permit the tramway route to run along the one long side of the site of the old gas works on which a very important project is now under construction: the old industrial buildings of the gas plant are being restored and put to new use for a variety of functions in what will be a very important cultural centre of the city of Athens. Completion of this centre should also be part of the first phase of the Kerameikos rehabilitation program. Broadly speaking, the gas plant project falls into three major sectors: an interactive communication centre, an applied arts and design centre, a cultural exchange centre for architecture, design, audio-visual production and computing.

4.1 The periphery area: The Patissia (3)

Patissia is one of the northern neighbourhoods of the municipality of Athens as well as a part of the 5th District. It is situated 4 - 5 km long from the Historic District. Within Athens, the Municipality has decentralised some administrative functions to the District level. There are 7 District Councils in Athens, each of which has restricted autonomy. Their resource base is minimal, they have no effective funds to implement their own policies, although they are partners in the process of local regeneration.

The Action Plan for a Pilot Neighbourhood (Patissia Area) is the key policy document for regenerating Patissia and sets out the strategic direction for development and change there. Produced by the Municipality of Athens and its partners, this multi-disciplinary plan presents a series of programmes which address urban and environmental planning, architectural and landscape design, business and employment, social, cultural and sporting activities and issues.

The plan is part of the Municipality's city-wide strategy to regenerate neighbourhoods throughout the city, to address its traffic problems, to open up green and other public spaces and to reduce its high levels of pollution. The multi-disciplinary approach in Patissia is central but its emphasis reflects the acute environment and transport problems faced by Athens and its residents. The pilot project is at an early stage.

Patissia was granted pilot project status as it typifies the problems found throughout the Athens Municipality. Its selection was not random but determined after careful consideration of its characteristics.

4.2 Historical account of the Patissia development

Until the 1920s, Patissia was a rural area but it was engulfed by the rapid urbanisation which accompanied the massive wave of immigration when thousands of Greeks were expelled from Asia Minor. This influx swelled the population of Athens by a staggering 60% in just a few months.

The extensive reconstruction of the city centre in the 1950s and 1960s and the incorporation of peripheral illegal settlements into the fabric of the city, underpinned by a historic lack of statutory land use planning, have fed many of the city's contemporary problems. The lack of urban space and high levels of pollution are the most severe contemporary problems in Patissia as in the whole of Athens.

4.3 Analysis of Patissia

The Pilot Neighbourhood, as defined in the above mentioned project, covers an area of approximately 34Ha, extending 640 m across from the Kaftantzoglou street (north) to the Koliatsou square (south) and extending approximately 500m across from the Patission street (east) to the Aharnon street and the railroad lines (west).

The population of the Pilot Neighbourhood in 1991 was 19,031 - a steady fall of 1,000 every ten years since 1971. This decline contrasts with population growth in the 5th District and in Athens metropolitan area as a whole over the same period. There are 7,500 households in the neighbourhood and the urban density of 600 people per hectare is one of the highest in Athens. This reflects the high building density in the area. People typically live in apartments in 5 or 6 storey buildings and there is a relatively small supply of green space, sporting or other public areas - a consequence of the lack of planning as the area developed. There is also a serious shortage of car parking facilities. Hence, cars parked on both sides of the roads impede both pedestrians and vehicular flows in Patissia's narrow streets.

Noise and air pollution levels are high, especially along the main traffic thoroughfares. Significantly, pollution levels often exceed recommended safety levels, thereby presenting hazards to the health of people living and working in the area.

There is also a shortfall in public infrastructure and buildings available for public use in the neighbourhood. In particular, two primary schools there operate from inappropriate buildings and the two public creches are far from sufficient to meet the demands of the neighbourhood.

Family support networks - in the neighbourhood and throughout Athens - appear much stronger than in many other cities. Thus, despite the relative weakness of the public social welfare system, individuals often receive social protection from their own families. Unemployment rates are not high - 5,5% of the population are unemployed although half of these are young people. There is a high proportion of home ownership and housing standards appear almost satisfactory. Many businesses operate in the area which indicates an entrepreneurial culture.

Within the Pilot Neighbourhood project an innovative research study was carried out by the Psychology Department of the University of Athens. It has developed a methodology for measuring the "sense of community" which exists in the neighbourhood. The study measured the "emotional bonds" between individuals and their family, friends, neighbours and other key groups active within the local community. Amongst the interesting findings of the research were that the emotional "closeness" between members of the community fell as educational levels increased and it grew with increasing age.

4.4 Strategies and Projects in Patissia

The multi-disciplinary approach to the development of Patissia is a new phenomenon and its implementation is at a very early stage. Whilst most developments have yet to be started, some projects build on existing activities. Broadly, three categories of intervention can be defined. There are environmental, social and economic initiatives:

The environmental initiatives within Patissia are part of the strategy for the wider city to tackle its most pressing contemporary problems - traffic congestion, air pollution and lack of open spaces. The land use strategy and accompanying Action Plan identify a pedestrian network within the quarter, designate green space and set out proposals for regulating traffic and parking problems.

The economic initiatives consist of specific programmes focusing on tackling unemployment and enhancing skills. Currently, these programmes are not area-based but target particular labour market groups. They apply throughout Athens and Greece.

The social initiatives include satisfying demands for buildings and equipment to meet social and educational needs, support for one parent families, voluntary services for old people, creche and baby-sitting services, services to families with children, improving access for the disabled, meeting housing needs for immigrants, reviving cultural activities and promoting participation in sports by all age groups.

The Multi-functional Grava Centre currently serves Patissia and the rest of the 5th District and has cultural, sports and social services functions. The Centre has the capacity to accommodate 1,500 people daily. Facilities accommodated there include a gymnasium and table tennis room and the Centre operates a wide array of programmes including painting, ceramics, music, theatre and dance. Its staff complement totals 33 - their salaries are paid by the YSO. The Social Services for the 5th District also has its headquarters in the Grava Centre. It is one of seven functionally decentralised units of the YSO's Social Services in the Athens Municipality. Its activities include making available information about drugs to teenagers and running seminars about sex education and AIDS for young people. It also works with groups and individuals to address an array of social problems.

The Centre is situated in the School Complex of Grava (which accommodates 12,500 Students), in the boundaries of the Municipality of Galatsi and of Athens, at about 800m far from the Pilot Neighbourhood. Its plot has an area of 1,500 square meters. In the plot open-air area, there is a theatre of 600 seats with a permanent stage and auxiliary premises (dressing room, showers, toilets) of 85 square meters. There are also green and walking areas as well as a children's playground of 300 square meters. The building where the Multi-functional Centre operates is constituted at 3,470 square metres of premises. This part of the School Complex has been transferred to the Municipality of Athens by the School Building Organisation in 1986. In 1988 the rehabilitation works were achieved and since January 1989, the Centre operates with no interruption and presents programmes and events during the morning and evening shift, on an every-day basis, Saturday and Sunday mornings included. The functional expenses of the Centre are of 74,000,000 DRS per year (1992).

Within the context of "Exercise for All" policy, YSO provides various activities at a neighbourhood or at a District level, such as those offered to Patissea area, i.e. gymnastics in the Grava's Centre Gym, which accommodates some 5,500 - 6,000 inhabitants practising Aerobics, Gymnastics, Free Gymnastics and Body building, n the 12 rooms available, sport programmes in the Parks of each Athens District, sport in school aiming at organisation of training programmes for beginners by specialised sport instructors, tournaments of team or individual sports, tournaments of sports associations, veteran athletes games and summer programmes in the school yards.

4.5 Administrative structure, civic society and political life

Considering the main elements of the administrative structure described above i.e. the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality, the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Athens, the 5th District, the YSO, it is necessary to examine how neighbourhood's society is involved in local and metropolitan cultural life. Voluntary organisations play an important role in meeting social needs, including cultural exchanges, in the Patissia area. The two most active cultural associations of the area are "Kostas Varnalis" and "Zoodochos Pigi", aiming not only to develop the cultural activities at a local level but also to contribute in local social development and environmental improvements. Residents were routinely consulted at different stages in the development of the land use plans and strategies for the neighbourhood. Some residents actively participate in voluntary work in the area. Nevertheless, residents participation is currently fragmented and has a relatively small influence on policy development and project implementation.

The Municipality recognises this democratic deficit and enhancing and realising more effective residents participation is a cornerstone of the strategy for the pilot project area. Indeed, the Action Plan lays out specific objectives to stimulate and augment local community participation. At the strategic level, the Municipality has a vision of participation ranging from the Municipal level down through the neighbourhood level to the very local housing block. According to an Athens University study of residents views in Patissia, 77% of respondents to its survey were happy to offer an average of 4 hours voluntary work per week to benefit the neighbourhood. Moreover, a substantial 44% said they were prepared to make financial contributions for local projects. The challenge will be to translate these statements of intent into actions.

The Action Plan for the Pilot Neighbourhood project of Patissia has brought together a wide range of partners to focus on the local area, i.e. specialists in urban and environmental planning, architectural and landscape design, business and employment development, social welfare, cultural development and sports promotion.

The Plan also neatly draws together different governmental and administrative tiers. Municipal actors, state and other national bodies, the University and the District Council have all signed up to the Plan. It also incorporates a strategy to develop the culture and practice of residents involvement and participation.

The Pilot Neighbourhood has its own organisational structure to develop and implement policy there. Policy development is driven by a Scientific team which consists of a series of experts from a broad range of disciplines. They include a doctor, sociologists, psychologists, civil engineers, architects, social workers and agriculturists. To implement the Action Plan, there is a co-ordinator and a project manager who are supported by a multi-disciplinary "Scientific Operational Team". This latter group incorporate architects, social workers, a public relations worker and a researcher from Athens University. The Action Plan details the agencies required to effectively implement each project. For instance, the project to provide cultural infrastructure in the neighbourhood brings together, the Town Planning and Architectural Design Departments of the Municipality, the District Ward and the Technical Department of the YSO.

5. Definition and description of "neighbourhood culture"

The analysis of the two case-studies highlighted the key characteristics of the "neighbour culture", the cosmopolitan culture and the historic preferences in the Historic District, the decentralised and various cultural activity in the Patissia area with its restricted resources and the developing residents participation process. The above mentioned local identities and cultural practices are the principal potential of each neighbourhood's cultural development and they are a challenge to develop practical and effective action plans, such as Kerameikos project and Pilot Neighbourhood project. The analysis of the two case-studies led to the identification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and problems for cultural development in the two neighbourhoods. In this context the Action Plan for cultural development will be a part of the above mentioned Municipal Action Plan.

Footnotes:

  1. The principal sources of this chapter are "the Unification of archaeological areas and open space plan" of the Culture, Athens 1993, and the Athens Municipality plan "A Tramway system for historic Athens", Environment company Ltd-DENCO Ltd. Athens, 1991.
  2. The strategy was the main element of the Mayor's electoral drive in 1990 and is combined with the main policy of Culture, i.e. the unification of archaeological areas and open space (1993)
  3. See "Action Plan for a Pilot Neighbourhood", Athens Municipality, E. Gavrielatos et al. 1992, and "Quartiers Programme Interim Report, Athens / Patissia", February 1993.

Bibliography:

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