Abandoned or Degraded Areas in Historic Cities: The Importance of Multifunctional Reuse for Development through the Example of the Historic Commercial Triangle (Emporiko Trigono) of Athens

Grigoria Zitouni-Petrogianni, Angeliki Paraschou and Helen Maistrou
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Grigoria Zitouni-Petrogianni: School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, Patision Street 42, 10682 Athens, Greece
Angeliki Paraschou: School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, Patision Street 42, 10682 Athens, Greece
Helen Maistrou: School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, Patision Street 42, 10682 Athens, Greece

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-25

Abstract: This article investigates the problem of changing land uses in historical city centers, a problem which often leads to the alteration of their historical, architectural and functional physiognomy, as well as the loss of their inhabitants. It also discusses the importance of land management and proposes a multifunctional reuse model for sustainable development in abandoned or degraded areas in historic cities. This problem is found in historical centers nowadays, especially in the European South, and many theoretical texts and urban studies deal with the issue. Taking under consideration the case of the Historical “Commercial Triangle” of Athens, this article presents the results of an extensive field work, which led to the mapping and analysis of the neighborhood’s special identity. Subsequently, these results lead to the presentation of the problems caused by the dominating uses of recreation and tourism, which suppress the traditional existing commercial uses and the residency. It concludes by proposing preservation strategies for the reuse and development of the area and emphasizes the importance of a management plan aiming towards the preservation of the historical character of the commercial center and its sustainable development. The work presented in this paper is based on an assignment produced in 2020 for the purposes of the post-graduate course “Protection and Preservation of a historical urban center or settlement”, which is part of the post-graduate program “Protection of Monuments” in the School of Architecture, NTUA.

Keywords: historical city center; cultural heritage; urban fabric; land uses; multifunctionality; preservation; reuse; management plan; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:1:p:114-:d:722263

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