Transformation of Inner-Urban Landscapes. Rethinking public space and publicness in Athens

We invited researchers and practitioners to join this round-table event to debate current and future challenges of the city and the public realm, investigating key drivers of urban change, and the potentials of the concept of inner-urban landscapes.

Athens is a city where some of the big future challenges crystallise, while at the same time offering unique qualities that could open up new potentials and pathways towards a different future. The round table was conceived to discuss these qualities and potentials, exchange ideas, draw comparisons, get inspiration, explore the city and test concepts and conjectures against urban reality.  As part of this event, we put up for discussion the “Inner-Urban Landscape” concept and explored its theoretical and practical range. We discussed the shifting relations between public space and publicness, as well as established links between Athens and current urban narratives that bear the promise of a more sustainable and just city, like the liveable neighbourhood, productive city, and the urban as collectively produced and therefore common good. These narratives are likely to play key roles in the structuring and guiding of future urban transitions.

Initially scheduled to take place in Athens over two days, the round table was held as a full-day online session.

Round-Table Participants

Session 1: Publicness & Liveable Neighborhood

Jon Goodbun –  Royal College of Arts & UCL Bartlett, London

Michalis Goudis –  Heinrich Böll Stiftung Greece, Thessaloniki

Eirini Iliopoulou –  Panteion University & Urban Dig Project , Athens

Theodora Malamou –  Artist & Curator, Athens

Session 2: Landscapes & Resources as Common Good

Elissavet Bargianni –  City of Athens

Panos Dragonas –  Technical University of Patras

Konstantina Georgiadou  –  University of Liverpool & Schwarz Foundation Scholar - Gennadius Library, Athens

Nikos Katsikis –  Technical University Delft

Session 3: Transformation & Productive City

Ifigeneia Dimitrakou –  University of Zurich & Athens Social Atlas

Valina Geropanta –  Technical University of Crete, Chania

Stavros Martinos –  Architect, researcher & EK-magazine editor, Athens

Richard Woditsch –  Technische Hochschule Georg Simon Ohm, Nürnberg

Moderation & Reflection of Sessions

Mark Michaeli, Eirini Kasioumi, Norbert Kling, Tasos Roidis –  Technical University Munich

Panayotis Tournikiotis –  National Technical University of Athens