Master Thesis (Cohort: September 2017)

Institute of Security and Global Affairs

Leiden University – Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

MSc in Crisis & Security Management

Vasileios Papageorgiou (s2090112)

Supervisor: Drs. Tim Dekkers Second Reader: Dr. G.M. van Buuren

Master Thesis Social Disorder in the City of Athens During the Economic Crisis

Wordcount: 21720

10/06/18 Acknowledgements

Many people contributed, one way or another, for the completion of this thesis. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Drs. Dekkers, for his guidance and his valuable suggestions during all this time. I would also like to thank Dr. Elke Devroe, for introducing me into the field of (urban) criminology while having a completely different academic background (BA in International Relations). Moreover, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors at the Center for Security Studies

(KEMEA) where I currently do my internship, Akis Karatrantos and Vasileios

Theofilopoulos, for helping me to communicate with the relevant authorities and organizations in order to conduct the interviews that I wanted and also for their general comments on my questionnaires that I finally sent to those authorities. I would also like to thank my friends Christos and Dimitris, for their invaluable help during the field research and their assistance in taking photos of the areas. Finally, I would like to wholeheartedly thank my parents and my friend Sophia, for listening patiently to my concerns and for their general support during all this time.

Table of contents

1. Introduction ...... 4

2. Theoretical framework: Social disorganization theory in context ...... 7

2.1 The discourse about the causes of crime ...... 7

2.2 Social Disorganization Theory ...... 9

2.3 The types of disorder and the case of Athens ...... 12

3. Research Methods ...... 16

3.1 Operationalization ...... 17

3.2 Research Design...... 19

3.3 Methods: Triangulation of methods ...... 20

3.4 Limitations and possible pitfalls ...... 24

4. Analysis and Results ...... 25

4.1 The city of Athens and the economic crisis ...... 25

4.2 Crime and social disorder in a crisis context ...... 27

4.2.1 The implications of poverty and economic deprivation ...... 28

4.2.2 The concept of ethnic heterogeneity ...... 33

4.2.3 The concept of physical dilapidation ...... 36

4.3 The administrative perspective on social disorders: Communication with

the Hellenic Police Force & the Municipality of Athens...... 41

4.3.1 Questionnaire and discussion with the head of KYADA’s Social Service

Department, Ms. Eleni Triantafyllou ...... 41

4.3.2 Questionnaires given to the General Police Directorate of Attica & the

Sub-Directorate of Drug Enforcement of the Hellenic Police Force ...... 44

4.3.3 Concluding remarks on questionnaires ...... 47

4.4 Field research in the public spaces of Athens ...... 49

4.4.1 Previous empirical researches on social & physical disorder on Athens;

The trajectory of social disorder during the economic crisis ...... 49

4.4.2 The current situation in the public spaces of Athens; A field

observation on social disorders and physical dilapidation ...... 50

4.4.3 Follow-up research on the Athens Metro stations ...... 67

4.4.4 Concluding remarks on field research...... 70

5. Discussion & Conclusion ...... 73

5.1 Discussion of results ...... 73

5.2 Conclusion ...... 75

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for future research ...... 77

5.4 Recommendations ...... 78

Reference List ...... 80

Primary Sources ...... 80

Secondary Sources...... 81

Appendix A ...... 86

Appendix B ...... 91

1. Introduction

As the phenomenon of urbanization seem to become more intense in the western world, and as the volume of everyday activities taking place in contemporary metropolises is in turn increasing, problems such as social anxiety and insecurity of their residents have subsequently also increased (Urdal & Hoelscher p.513, 2012). Moral panic and relevant phenomena are nowadays evident in populous cities due to vast changes that are transforming the hitherto social structure and values inside a society (Young p.4, 2009). As a result, crime and social disorder incidents in populous metropolises are perhaps the main factors that contribute to the culmination of insecurity among the citizens. While overall crime rates keep falling on a global scale ("The curious case of the fall in crime", 2013) civilians are feeling insecure about other relevant societal problems that have also a direct effect on their well-being inside their cities of residence. According to Garofalo and Laub (1978), urban social disorder is perhaps the core of those sources of “fear” amongst the citizens, surpassing even the fear for criminal acts (Yang, 2014).

Social disorder is generally deemed as “unsettling or potentially threatening and perhaps unlawful public behavior” (Skogan, 2012, p.175). A wide range of phenomena can be interpreted as social disorder acts including (but not limited to) public drinking, insults between neighbors, homelessness, panhandling, public use of (legal) drugs, having to witness street violence in public space, and riots (Devroe, 2017). Given the ambiguity that characterizes the notion of social disorder, there is no accepted way of dealing with that kind of problems. Although some countries prefer to adopt a more tolerant approach towards the homeless or panhandlers, others have a preference in adopting more aggressive measures of social control against those social groups, even by criminalizing homeless people in public spaces and by handing fines to them (Podoletz, 2016). Following the outburst of the economic crisis on 2008, those problems increased in numbers and severity in many of the western countries, fueling up this discourse and underlining the importance of implementing concrete measures by the local and national authorities to effectively deal or alleviate those phenomena.

Undoubtedly, the most characteristic example of a European country that faced the severe consequences of the economic crisis is Greece and more specifically, its capital, Athens. The populous city of Athens is still facing various problems of social disorder directly related to low income and poverty. The rates of the latter have skyrocketed

4 since the beginning of the crisis that affected Greece in mid-2010 (City of Athens p.31, 2017). According to the Chicago School of criminology, one of the most prominent schools of thought in urban sociology, there is a correlation between social phenomena such as economic crises and poverty and an analogous increase in most of the crime rate indicators (Shaw & Mc. Kay, 1942). However, few studies have focused on how an economic crisis influences the development of social disorder phenomena that are usually not included in the penal code of most “civil law” countries.

Consequently, in this paper, we will try to contextualize the implications of poverty and low income in the public order of the city center of Athens in the context of the economic crisis, by applying the lenses of the social disorganization theory of Chicago School. By doing so, this research will in turn highlight the existence (or not) of poverty-related social disorder phenomena in certain areas of the city center, as this is considered as a necessary step in order to apply the selected theory on this specific case study and test its explanatory power. As a result, the research question of this paper is the following:

To what extent can the social disorganization theory of Chicago School explain poverty-related social disorder phenomena in the public spaces of the city center of Athens during the economic crisis period (2011-2018)?

Given that research question, the following sub-question will be assessed:

Are there areas with poverty related social disorder phenomena in the city center of Athens during the economic crisis period (2011-2018)? If so, which areas are and what are their main characteristics?

The case study of the city center of Athens has an important academic relevance for a variety of reasons. First of all, it is inspired by the ongoing Policing European Metropolises Project (PEMP), which is not following a traditional national security trajectory but instead, underlines the important role of contemporary metropolises in today’s globalized world. Furthermore, the case study of Athens, as an understudied case in terms of urban crime and social disorder, will enrich the current academic research on the field. Moreover, it will further elaborate on the ambiguous notion of social disorder by trying to present specific examples of those phenomena in this particular case study. Last but not least, by applying the social disorganization theory to the selected case, this thesis aims to contribute also to the broader academic discourse

5 about the possible causes of crime as briefly described in the following chapter of this thesis.

Additionally, this thesis has a significant societal relevance, since the vast majority of people nowadays live and work in urban areas. It is estimated that approximately 3,75 million of people are living in the metropolitan city of Athens which in turn has one of the highest population densities rates in Europe (City of Athens p.31, 2017). By highlighting the most important social disorder problems that are related to poverty and low income and take place in the city center of Athens, Greek policy makers might be able to come up with comprehensive strategies to counter these phenomena on their roots, based on the outcomes of this research. Moreover, it might become possible to shade light upon some important social causes of crime and social disorder, such as the effect of the economic crisis in the increase or decrease of certain crime rates and delinquency, which is one of the reasons that this specific time frame was selected. Furthermore, the outcomes of this research might be useful to other policy makers and civil servants of different countries and metropolises in order to draw conclusions about similar social disorder phenomena that counter in their metropolises of interest.

In the following chapter, an overview of the most important etiological theories of crime emphasizing on the societal aspects of the issue, are presented funneling down to the theoretical framework of this thesis. Chapter 3 concerns the research methodology of this thesis, while the chapters that follow provide a short description of the economic crisis and its implications on the city of Athens. In the following chapters, the analysis of the indicators is taking place based on the different research methodologies and data collection methods that are selected for this research. In chapter 4.2, desktop research aims to give the necessary background on the selected indicators, while chapter 4.3 aims to analyze in depth the phenomena that are researched, based on the use of questionnaires given to the administrative authorities of Athens. Chapter 4.4 refers to previous empirical researches conducted on the city center of Athens about relevant social disorder phenomena and the outcomes of a new field research conducted by me are also presented in this chapter. Given the outcomes of those chapters, the explanatory power of the selected social disorganization theory will be tested on the selected case study of Athens in the conclusion of chapter 5, after a short discussion of the research outcomes. Finally, some brief policy recommendations based on the outcomes of the research will be proposed.

2. Theoretical framework: Social disorganization theory in context

To identify and explain the social disorder phenomena in the city center of Athens that are linked to poverty and most likely to the economic crisis, it is essential to elaborate a bit more on the abstract notion of “social disorder” while implementing a concrete theoretical framework in order to interpret those phenomena according to the concepts derived from the social disorganization theory. Before doing so, the selection of this particular criminological theory must be completely justified. Consequently, a short description of the key criminological theories related to the societal causes of crime and delinquency is deemed necessary before funneling down to the theoretical framework of this thesis.

2.1 The discourse about the causes of crime

The causes of crime and delinquency remain until today, a popular yet still not entirely explored field of research. In the same context, the notions of physical and social disorder seem to follow a parallel trajectory with criminal and delinquent behavior while contemporary criminological and sociological studies consider the line between those notions increasingly blurred (Devroe, 2017). Consequently, certain criminological theories may be used as well to interpret some phenomena of social disorder in an urban setting.

While many theories and academics tried to come up with possible suggestions or interpretations on why people are committing crimes there is still no consensus about the causes of crime. The different criminological approaches often compete with each other and it seems that none of those theories can extensively answer the fundamental question regarding the causes of crime on its own, since each theory is characterized by its particular strengths and weaknesses (SCCJR, 2016, p. 1). While some support that certain biological characteristics of individuals (Beccalossi, 2010) or certain personality traits are the main source of delinquency (Garland, 2001, p.16; Merton, 1938, p.672- 677; Pratt et al., 2011, p. 57-59), others attribute criminal behavior to environmental, or

7 societal factors (Sutherland, 1947; Shaw and McKay, 1942; Park, Burgess, Mckenzie, 1967).

While most of the individual-based theories fail to take into account societal aspects that influence the volume of criminal activities, the “strain theory” suggests that individuals may eventually end up in crime when they are feeling strained or are unable to follow the perceived cultural and structural goals of their society (Merton, 1938, p.672-674). Consequently, crime results when the individual try to achieve legitimate goals through illegitimate means (Merton, 1938, p.677).

However, the idea that it was not the person who commits a crime problematic but instead, societal and environmental reasons could be deemed responsible for creating crime, created a considerable shift in criminological thinking (Devroe, 2017). In addition to the above, the vast majority of those theories seem to take into account various societal aspects of the causes of crime and delinquency.

In this context, Marx and Durkheim supported that criminal behavior is the result of social class conflicts in society. Habermas and Foucault took a step further to support that those who commit crimes disagree with the laws that were created by the “elite” to control them while other academics highlighted the dangers that labelling might hinder in the development of a prospective criminal (Devroe, 2017). Other academics supported that criminal behavior “is learned in interaction with other persons in a process of communication” (Sutherland, 1947, p.6) concluding that “delinquency is caused by an excess of definitions in favor of law violation” (Sutherland, 1947, p.6).

Although the above-mentioned well-respected theories underline the importance of societal influence, those theories seem to underestimate other, objective factors that may contribute to crime fertilization. The theory of Sutherland for instance, emphasizes on the way people are becoming criminals and is not concerned with the reasons for engaging in criminal activity. Reasons such as poverty and other social conditions in certain areas seem to be underestimated or overlooked in Sutherland’s theory. However, this gap seems to be filled by the social disorganization theory of Chicago School, linked to ecological theories.

2.2 Social Disorganization Theory

In the early 1940, sociologists Henry McKay and Clifford Shaw conducted research on the criminal behavior in the city of Chicago (Devroe, 2017). According to the outcomes of their research, crime was most likely to occur in areas that suffer a breakdown in social mores and opportunities. Those communities are mostly high populated ones, with low income and multicultural (Devroe, 2017). Therefore, this theory suggests that delinquency is not a result of the individual or of minorities but of neighborhood dynamics (Shaw and McKay, 1942, p.107). In other words, there are places such as regions of poverty and degradation that can be criminogenic (Park, Burgess, Mckenzie, 1967, p.54-55).

The theory of social disorganization seems to take into consideration the contribution of factors such as poverty and their subsequent effect on criminality rates. While some similarities can be found in regard to other criminological theories such as the differential association theory of Sutherland, pre-research on the topic has indicated that social disorganization theory seems to share many of its theoretical concepts, if not the most, with the peculiarities of the selected case study of this thesis, comparing to the rest of the abovementioned theories. Finally, the theory of social disorganization suggests that the relation between crime and social disorders is reciprocal while citizen perceptions of disorder confirm this hypothesis. Consequently, the social disorganization criminological theory can be also used to describe phenomena of social disorder as well, thus distinguishing this theory as a more suitable one for the selected topic comparing to other criminological theories (Hill & Paynich, 2014, p.63-64).

The social disorganization theory of the Chicago School has received the contributions of several prominent sociologists and therefore is a theory that has been further expanded and enriched throughout the years. However, Shaw & McKay in 1942 produced the core theoretical concepts of social disorganization theory thus proposing a solid theoretical framework for criminologists and practitioners of this field. Shaw & McKay supported that poverty, ethnic heterogeneity and physical dilapidation were the main factors that culminate phenomena of social disorganization based on their case study of the city of Chicago (Schram & Tibbetts, 2013, p.203). They also recognized that other characteristics including residential mobility or other “social ills” such as diseases or infant mortality might correlate also with higher rates of delinquency

(Schram & Tibbetts, 2013, p.203). In turn, those phenomena culminate a lack of community controls and the inability of different segments of a community to work together towards a common goal and thus lead to the assumption that socially disorganized areas might develop criminal values and traditions that can replace conventional ones (Gall 2007, p.17-18; Shaw and McKay, 1942, p. 107). Finally, Shaw & McKay adopted the concentric circles model of Ernest W. Burgess, underlining the importance of ecological principles in their theory, concluding that some places can be deemed as criminogenic. Based on the empirical results of their research, Shaw & McKay confirmed that the “zone of/in transition” included the highest delinquency rates comparing to the rest of the zones of the proposed model. Figure 1 gives a schematic view of the zone model proposed by Burgess on the city of Chicago.

Figure 1: The concentric zones model proposed by Burgess on the city of Chicago

According to Siegel (2006) the criminal values developed in social disorganized areas are likely to include poverty related phenomena like homelessness, panhandling and the use of drugs (Gall p.17, 2007) phenomena that the city center of Athens seems to face during the crisis period. In addition to that, the core concept of low income seems to fit with the selected case given that a considerable number of Athenians have suffered an intense deprivation as a result of the economic crisis. Furthermore, and according to pre-research on the topic, some of the other characteristics of the theory such as the

10 concept of highly populated areas seem to be in line with the high population density of Athens, which is one of the highest population densities rates in Europe (City of Athens p.31, 2017). Finally, the ecological importance of the theory visualized by the concentric zones model will be also of some use in the case of Athens to further test the explanatory power of this theory upon poverty-related social disorder phenomena in the city of Athens. It is left to be answered if certain hotspots of delinquency and disorder might be located close to the city center of Athens, or in other words if a zone that resembles the “zone in transition” as described by social disorganization theorists might exists in the case of the city of Athens as well.

Figure 2: Main concepts of social disorganization theory (grey table) based on the assumptions of Shaw & McKay

In order to build on the core theoretical concepts of social disorganization theory and to come up with indicators that will be used in the research methodology of this analysis, it is important to analyze first the abstract notion of social disorder and the phenomena that share linkages with the increased poverty rates as a direct consequence of the economic crisis.

2.3 The types of disorder and the case of Athens

It is a common phenomenon that in many countries the lines between actual criminal phenomena and perceived anti-social behavior are increasingly blurred. Who can define if a behavior is deemed as “anti-social” if no crime is committed or if the relevant act is not included in the penal code of a civil law country as in the case of Greece? If so, which is the required response for those phenomena and in which level? In this context, social disorder is a multidimensional notion since it is subject to the moral, cultural, administrative, well-being and security standards of each society (Crawford & Selmini, 2017). Consequently, what is deemed as a “social disorder phenomenon” in the UK, might not be perceived as such in Greece and vice versa while people that even share the same nationality or citizenship might have different perceptions on the issue. Bearing this in mind, the following chapter will try to conceptualize some of the most common poverty-related social disorders based on the relevant bibliography, while taking into consideration the Greek perspective on those kinds of phenomena.

As an ambiguous and subjective notion, it is hard for social disorder to be defined and therefore no consensus can be reached regarding its definition (Yang p. 4922, 2014) However, Wesley Skogan, tried to give a typology regarding the different expressions of disorder. According to him, disorders may be categorized in three types. Besides criminal disorders, Skogan recognizes the existence of physical and social disorders as well (Skogan, 2012, p.173).

According to Skogan, social disorders can be defined as “unsettling or potentially threatening and perhaps unlawful public behaviors” (Skogan, 2012, p.175). Regarding physical disorders, Skogan describes them as “overt signs of negligence or unchecked decay as well as the visible consequences of malevolent misconduct” such as street litter, graffiti and vandalisms (Skogan, 2012, p.175-176). Similarly, some common social disorder phenomena include but are not limited to, the public use of legal drugs, panhandling, homelessness, prostitution, riots, public drinking, insults between neighbors and having to witness street violence in public space (Devroe, 2017).

The common characteristic of the examples mentioned above is that all lead to the culmination of feelings of insecurity amongst the citizens and all of them are taking place in public space (Devroe, 2017). However, as Skogan concludes, a distinction

12 between social and physical disorder in not always possible because of their close association to each other (Skogan, 2012, p.176).

Figure 3: Most common phenomena perceived as social disorders based on international bibliography

Panhanding

Prostitution

Homelessness

Public drinking Disorder

Riots Social Witnessing street violence

Public use of (legal) drugs

In the case of Athens, the most characteristic phenomena that seem to have increased in numbers during the economic crisis period are homelessness, panhandling and the use of drugs in public spaces, phenomena that also appear to be interrelated and share the same foundations on poverty and economic deprivation (Kathimerini, 2016; Katsounaki, 2016). Therefore, homelessness, panhandling and the use of drugs in public spaces are the main phenomena that are visible in public space and this research will focus on.

Apparently, those are deemed as social disorder phenomena, although linkages with other types of disorders also exist. For instance, panhandling and the use of (any) drugs in public spaces, are both considered as crimes under the Greek penal law, although it seems that little, if no action is taken for those phenomena on many public spaces in Athens according to the allegations of the citizens of the city center (Κωνσταντάτου & Βυθούλκας, 2018) and can thus be categorized also as social disorder phenomena.

Figure 4: Types of disorder according to Skogan (2012) and their linkages with the selected phenomena in Athens

The phenomena described in figure 4 are not the only phenomena that might be related to poverty. Prostitution, riots and street violence might be other phenomena that may present linkages with poverty or low income as well. However, the above-mentioned phenomena seem to have direct and apparent links to poverty and the economic crisis in Greece and are seemingly closely affiliated to each other during the same period in Athens (Vlasi, p.10, 2013). In addition to that, phenomena like prostitution and riots seem to be culminated by a variety of factors making it very difficult for one to prove a definite causal relationship with factors such as low income or poverty. While the likes of homelessness, panhandling and the use of drugs in public spaces do not only derive from poverty, those phenomena share more apparent foundations on economic deprivation causes.

Consequently, the explanatory power of the social disorganization theory based on the empirically tested assumptions of Shaw & McKay will be tested on poverty related social disorder phenomena following the case study of the city center of Athens. As a result, the theoretical funnel that this chapter and this thesis follows based on a deductive approach is summarized in below, in figure 5.

Figure 5: The thesis’ theoretical funnel

Causes of crime ↓ Social disorganization theory

↓

Social disorder phenomena

↓

Related to poverty

↓

Athens

In the following chapter an analytical description of the research design, the measurable indicators selected based on the theoretical concepts and the data collection methods of this thesis will be presented in order to give a clear indication of the research methodology to the reader.

3. Research Methods

This thesis uses a holistic case study research design in order to give a contextualized insight on the problems of social disorder in the crisis-hit city center of Athens. The aim of this thesis is to attempt to apply the lenses of the social disorganization criminological theory on poverty related social disorder phenomena in Athens in order to try to explain the existence of those phenomena in certain areas of the city center using a deductive research approach. As a result, the following explanatory research question guides this thesis:

This research will try to give a contextualized insight beginning from the early years of the economic crisis till nowadays (2011-2018), a crisis that left Greece and subsequently Athens, facing the severe consequences of an economic deprivation. As a result, social factors that contribute to the likes of poverty and low income further escalated, factors that are in turn seem inseparably linked to the social disorganization theory as described in the theoretical framework of the previous chapter.

In order to answer the main research question and to test the explanatory power of the social disorganization theory, it is necessary to identify if there are certain public spaces in the city center of Athens that suffer from phenomena of social disorder. Therefore, the main sub-questions of this thesis are the following: Are there areas with poverty related social disorder phenomena in the city center of Athens during the economic crisis period (2011-2018)? If so, which areas are and what are their main characteristics? Given these sub-questions the indicators selected will be measured upon those specific areas. If no such poverty related social disorder phenomena exist in some of the public spaces of the city center of Athens, the theory cannot explain relevant phenomena in this case study. However, pre-research on this topic provided some strong indications that such areas do exist and are distributed close or on the city center of Athens.

3.1 Operationalization

In order to answer the research questions of this thesis, it is important to draw indicators based on the theoretical framework of the previous chapter. The main concepts of social disorganization theory as mentioned above, conclude that delinquency is the result of neighborhood dynamics and certain socioeconomic factors. As a result, the core concepts which are the foundation of the theory mentioned in the previous section will be operationalized to measurable indicators that will in turn facilitate with the conduction of this research. Figure 6 gives a schematic overview of those indicators based on the work of McKay & Shaw.

Figure 6: Operationalization of social disorganization theory. Indicators based on the core concepts of theory presented in chapter 2.

Income

(Un)employement

Poverty Panhandling

Homelessness

Ethnicity

Social (Ethnic) Language disorganization heterogeneity theory Immigrants

Distribution

Graffiti

Physical Litter dilapidation

Abandoned buildings

Use of drugs in public spaces

The concept of poverty can be partly measured by taking into consideration the levels of income of the citizens in Athens and unemployment rates based mostly on statistical data. In other words, the concept of poverty and its indicators can be parallelized with the effects and consequences of the economic crisis on public space which defines the selected time frame for this research. In lack of official statistical figures, those data will be supplemented by estimations of the Municipality of Athens, the Hellenic Police Force and other relevant authorities and organizations. Those authorities will also facilitate this research by providing information regarding the characteristics of the population of panhandlers and homeless people, which are some visible consequences of poverty and economic deprivation and will therefore be used also as indicators for the concept of poverty in this analysis. That information will be provided with the form of answers in open-ended questions that will be given to these authorities and organizations. Field (observational) research and empirical data from relevant researches will supplement and might confirm those findings.

Ethnic heterogeneity can be measured by identifying and observing the number and distribution of different ethnicities in the city center of Athens and certain public spaces, based on statistical data and field research respectively. The indicator of language can be measured based on the variety of different languages that can be heard during the field research in the public spaces under investigation. Finally, the concentration of immigrants will be measured based on the available statistical data regarding the city of Athens and on field research regarding their concentration in certain areas. It is important to note once more that according to the theory, there are not minorities or immigrant groups that seem to be delinquent, but instead any resident of those areas may have a tendency towards delinquent acts due to a perceived lack of community controls, regardless of its ethnic or cultural background.

Consequently, the concept of physical dilapidation can be estimated by observing the distribution of physical degradation and signs of deprivation in certain public spaces close or in the city center of Athens that will be indicated by the outcomes of the desktop research and the questionnaires. For this reason, indicators such as the amount of graffiti1, litter, abandoned buildings and the use of drugs in public spaces have been

1 Sometimes, it is difficult for one to distinguish which graffiti can be considered as vandalism and which as street art. However, in this research, all types of graffiti will be recorded and measured regarding this indicator.

18 selected and will be examined during the field research, following the paradigm of the indicators of previous empirical researches and prominent researchers in the field of criminology (Ζαραφωνίτου, 2016; Skogan, 2012). Those field observations (2011, 2013, 2016) conducted with the supervision of Professor Dr. Zarafonitou on certain public spaces of Athens, alongside with the field research that will be conducted in line with the needs of this thesis, will highlight the trajectory of those phenomena in the city center of Athens during the selected time frame (2011-2018).

Based on the data that will be collected and analyzed on those indicators, the explanatory power of the theory of social disorganization and its assumptions will be tested on the selected case study of Athens.

It has to be noted that due to the focus of this thesis on the city center of Athens and for feasibility reasons, the concentric zones model proposed by Burgess cannot be fully implemented in this case study given that the research will only focus on the area that seem to resemble to the “zone in transition” rather than the other zones described in the concentric circles model. However, the model can be partly implemented to test if there are certain areas of disorder close to the city center of Athens and become the incentive for future research focusing in the implementation of the concentric zones model in the case study of Athens (see chapter 5.3). Consequently, in this research, the main focal point are the theoretical assumptions and core concepts that characterize the social disorganization theory as proposed by Shaw & McKay.

3.2 Research Design

Given the ambiguity of the topic of social disorder, a qualitative research design was followed instead of a quantitative one or mixed methods. The nature of the topic of social disorder is subjective and abstract, and the interpretational methods provided by the qualitative approach will be used in order to achieve as more concrete and in-depth results as possible.

This thesis will use a single holistic case study with the goal of giving a contextualized insight in the case of Athens. In other words, the unit of analysis is the city center of Athens and the unit of observation are the public spaces of the city center of Athens that suffer from poverty-related social disorder phenomena. This particular case study

19 was chosen because of the complexity and the uniqueness that characterizes social disorder phenomena depending on the city. The consequences of the economic crisis that Greece and subsequently Athens suffered makes the latter a unique case for a closer examination of those phenomena in urban space. Moreover, an in-depth analysis on a single case study seems to be an effective way to test the explanatory power of the selected theory, given the available time frame.

Despite the selection of a single case study, the topic remains difficult to be researched in depth due to its subjective nature. Consequently, a triangulation of research methods is deemed necessary in order to increase the validity of the findings and the outcomes of this research.

3.3 Methods: Triangulation of methods

The data collection methods that are used in this thesis combine (1) desk top research (2) questionnaires based on open-ended questions and (3) observational research. Desktop research will be valuable in order to set the foundations of the problem, and to introduce the reader in this topic. This is perhaps the only feasible method that one can use to measure precisely indicators such as unemployment rates, and levels of poverty and this is also one of the reasons why is chosen.

Regarding the choice of questionnaires as a second methodology, and according to Skogan (2012, p.176) open-ended questions is the most commonly used approach and perhaps the most appropriate regarding social disorders. The questions were mailed to the respondents in the form of questionnaires due to their preference, the limited time that the relevant authorities could provide and due to the difficulty of arranging interviews with certain people working on those authorities, which required a long bureaucratic procedure. However, in some cases, a short discussion with the interviewees took place, in order to supplement the findings of the questionnaires. It has to be also noted that according to Skogan, the data collected from open-ended questions are usually supplemented by data published by the police and the municipal authorities which also justifies the choice of desktop research for this research.

Finally, Skogan notes that “because disorders by definition involve behaviors that take place in public space, and many leave behind a trail of visible physical consequences,

20 observers can systematically record them in the field.” (2012, p.176). Observational or field research is therefore deemed as a rather appropriate method given the nature of social disorders and their physical consequences on the public spaces of Athens.

The first method that will be used in order to set the foundations of this research is desktop research based on open sources. Prominent Greek newspapers, relevant media reports during the economic crisis, governmental documents and statistical data will be valuable to identify some of the peculiarities of the selected phenomena in Athens and the perception of the people given the framing of the media on those phenomena. In this context, the above-mentioned open sources will probably provide this thesis with some valuable insights about the nature and the magnitude of the problem. Upon the completion of this method most of the indicators will be measured, mostly based on available statistical data. Unemployment, and level of income will be measured based on that methodology while some other indicators and concepts will be also partly measured.

The second method will include the use of questionnaires and short discussion with practitioners involved in this topic that are able to elaborate on the main factors behind the culmination of the selected phenomena. The questionnaire with open-ended questions is answered by the Hellenic Police Force and more specifically was sent to the General Police Directorate of Attica and the Sub-Directorate of Drug Enforcement. The magnitude of the use of drugs in public spaces and the distribution of certain hotspots where those phenomena are culminated will be the outcomes of this method.

Except the Hellenic Police Force, an interview was conducted as well with a practitioner from the Municipality of Athens and specifically from the City of Athens Homeless Shelter (KYADA) which is the relevant organization for recording homelessness and other poverty related phenomena that are linked to or affect the homeless people and the citizens of Athens. This questionnaire and the short discussion that took place with the head of KYADA’s Social Service Department, Ms. Eleni Triantafyllou, had the goal of tracing the phenomenon of homelessness on city center’s map while shedding light on its possible connections with the rest of the phenomena under research.

The different people working in public administration and law enforcement agencies that are selected to be interviewed are not selected by chance; all of them offer a

21 different yet invaluable perspective on the view of the social disorder phenomenon and its outcomes. The answers in the questionnaires will help to distinguish the existence of certain areas in the city center of Athens that suffer from poverty related phenomena of social disorder and will help to better evaluate the indicators of the theory since the focus of the research will be narrowed down to certain public spaces in Athens. Consequently, some of the indicators of the concepts of poverty, ethnic heterogeneity and physical dilapidation will be also measured with that method, a method which will in turn pave the way for the third and final method of field research on certain public spaces of Athens.

Finally, and based on the findings of the previous research methods, a field research in specific areas of the city center of Athens that are deemed as “criminogenic” or delinquent and suffer from some of the selected social disorder phenomena will take place. As a final method, field research will be valuable for measuring signs of physical dilapidation, indicators of heterogeneity and poverty and might validate the outcomes of the previous methods. Moreover, field research as a primary data collection method, will add to the research findings of this thesis by increasing their validity, given that most of the relevant research is based heavily on secondary sources.

Figure 7: Data collection methods (left) and the main indicators (right) intended to be measured

• Ethnicity (Diversity) • Immigrants (Density) • Income (Levels) • Unemployement (Rates) • Panhandling (Density, Distribution, Desktop Causes) • Homelessness (Density, Distribution, Research Causes) • Use of drugs in public spaces (Density, Distribution, Causes) • Distribution of deprived areas • Abandoned buildings (Density, Distribution)

• Homelessness (Density, Distribution, Causes) • Distribution of deprived areas Questionnaires • Use of drugs in public spaces (Density, Distribution) • Panhandling (Density, Distribution, Causes)

• Ethnicity (Diversity) • Language (Variation) • Graffiti (Density) • Litter (Density) • Abandoned buildings (Density, Field Research Distribution) • Use of drugs in public spaces (Density) • Homelessness (Density) • Panhandling (Density) • Immigrants (Density)

The analysis of the indicators and the presentation of the data will be categorized based on the different data collection methods, in order to give a holistic view and to adopt a comprehensive approach in answering the research questions of this thesis. Desktop research will present the foundations of those problems, while the answers in the questionnaires will further elaborate on the issue. Given those two methods, field research on certain areas of the city center of Athens will be conducted. Figure 8 gives a schematic overview of this deductive approach that will be followed regarding the data collection methods and in turn the analysis of this thesis.

Figure 8: Triangulation of research methods

Desktop Research

Questionnaires

Field Research

3.4 Limitations and possible pitfalls

The selected research design and data collection methods seem relatively feasible given the available time frame to conduct this research. However, limitations and possible pitfalls do exist. Unlike natural sciences, criminological theories and generally theories aiming to interpret social phenomena are characterized by a certain degree of wickedness; their variables or selected indicators cannot be measured precisely and thus hardly any conclusion can be definite (Rittel & Webber, 1973). The theory of social disorganization, although widely respected in the field of criminology, is no exception to this rule. Some of the assumptions described in the theory such as “a lack of community controls” or even some of the rest of the concepts of the theory such as “residential mobility” are hard to be measured due to their abstract nature and their difficulty to be recorded (Hill & Paynich, 2014, p.64). Consequently, it is not feasible to convert all the concepts without exception to measurable indicators, therefore it will be hard to reach absolute conclusions.

In addition to the above, the subjective nature of social disorder phenomena, difficulties in recording or collecting information about these phenomena by the administrative and policing authorities and thus in finding extensive data on the subject due to time consuming bureaucratical procedures are all recognized as possible limitations and pitfalls. Conducting field research will be also difficult due to the nature of the topic and the dangers that may be hindered while observing and recording those phenomena in certain areas in Athens. However, the selection of a wide array of research methods aims to limit these problems and to produce as concrete outcomes and findings as possible, given the nature of the selected topic.

4. Analysis and Results

4.1 The city of Athens and the economic crisis

The 4.1 chapter is focused on desktop research based on open sources such as statistical data and governmental and media reports, aiming to provide the reader with the information needed for the topic of this thesis while analyzing the selected indicators under this methodological approach.

The city of Athens is the capital of Greece, located in the wider region of Attica, and nowadays accounts approximately for 3,75 million people. Athens covers today a geographical area of 2.929 Km2 (City of Athens 2017, p.29) making its metropolitan city possessing one of the highest population densities records in Europe.

Figure 9: Population density in selected European cities. Athens has the second highest population density. Source: Athens Resilience Strategy 2030 - (City of Athens p.29, 2017)

The metropolis of Athens consists of 66 Municipalities, where the Municipality of Athens as the most populous one (660.000 residents) stands out as the driving force for the rest of the Municipalities regarding initiatives that aim to increase the quality of life

25 of the citizens, initiatives that take place on a local, national, but also on global level (City of Athens p.25, 2017). The city of Athens is a characteristic example of a “glocal”2 city given the initiatives taken by its Mayor, its global historical significance and its cultural diversity (City of Athens, p.31 2017).

Figure 10: Municipality of Athens (in purple color) in the greater metropolitan region of Attica.

Not surprisingly, the populous city of Athens is facing many problems that have a direct effect on the everyday life of the Athenian citizens. The effects of the economic crisis which was transmitted to Greece at mid-2010, were devastating for the Metropolis of Athens and the Municipality, thus skyrocketing unemployment rates and leading many people to live below the poverty line (City of Athens p.31, 2017).

2 The interconnection between “global” and “local” and the significant impact that the former has on the latter, is described in the relevant bibliography as “glocalization”. For more information see Swyngedouw, E. (1997). Neither Global nor Local: ‘Glocalization’ and the Politics of Scale. In K. R.Cox, Spaces of Globalization: Reasserting the Power of the Local (pp. 137-161). London: Longman.

4.2 Crime and social disorder in a crisis context

The consequences of the economic deprivation had numerous implications on the life of citizens in Greek cities and especially in Athens which represents approximately the 35%3 of the total Greek population. However, violent crimes4 in Greece and in Athens do not seem to have increased in numbers since the beginning of the crisis. Paradoxically, most of the indicators of violent crime decreased about 30% during the period 2011-2016 (Hellenic Police Force, 2017) making Greece a particularly interesting case study for criminologists.

Figure 11: Selected Violent Crime indicators in the Region of Attica 2011-2016 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Criminal Homicide Forcible Rape Blackmailing Bank Robbery

Source: Hellenic Police Force, 2017 On the contrary, petty crimes in the public areas of the city center increased regarding the same reference period (Hellenic Police Force, 2017) and seemingly phenomena of social disorder that are mostly related to poverty. As a result of the economic deprivation and the migrant crisis that also affected the city of Athens, phenomena such as aggressive panhandling, the use of drugs in public spaces and homelessness seem to have increased, concerning the citizens and the authorities of Athens (Kathimerini, 2016; Katsounaki, 2016).

3 Calculated based on the current estimation of the Greek population by ELSTAT (Hellenic Statistical Service). 4 Homicides, Rapes, Bank Robberies, etc.

4.2.1 The implications of poverty and economic deprivation

The concept of poverty on this chapter is analyzed based on desktop research with a heavy emphasis on open sources such as statistical data, where some relevant researches and some media reports are also used to provide the reader with the necessary foundations for the topic of this thesis. Indicators such as the level of income, unemployment rates and the visual outcomes of poverty with phenomena such as homelessness and panhandling, will be presented in this chapter.

From the beginning of the economic crisis, poverty related indicators have skyrocketed in Greece and subsequently in Athens. In particular, approximately 22% of the Greek people are living under conditions of extreme poverty as measured in 2015, while the same figure stands at 21% in the city of Athens (Municipality of Athens p.25, 2016).

Figure 12: Percentage of people living in extreme poverty during 2009-2013. In blue color: Greece and in orange: Municipality of Athens. Source: Αθήνα Αναδυόμενη Μητρόπολη - Προκαταρτική Αξιολόγηση Ανθεκτικότητας (Municipality of Athens p.25, 2016)

Before the outburst of the economic crisis in Greece, the same figure stood only at 2% (City of Athens p.31, 2017). According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (2017), the percentage of poverty threat is currently standing approximately at 36%.

36 35.7 35.7 35.6 34.6

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Percentage of population at risk of poverty

Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2017 In particular and since 2009, poverty rates in the (Metropolitan) city of Athens sharply increased from 16% to 40,4% in 2013, while the rates of extreme poverty reached 20,6% from 16,5% in 2009 (Municipality of Athens p.16, 2015). The Municipality of Athens, in line with its responsibilities for providing the Greek Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD/ΤΕΒΑ) has received 18,766 applications in 2017, for the distribution of food and basic materials to people with (gross) annual income less than 2.400 euros, with the total number of beneficiaries reaching 38,417, out of which 10,627 are minors (I.Kavadia, personal communication, May 25, 2018).

Moreover, the levels of income and pensions have been slashed during the same reference period. More specifically, during the period 2010-2016, the overall income in Greece has been reduced by 31,5%, while social benefits (mostly pensions) have been reduced by 17,2% (Χατζηνικολάου, 2017). It is indicative that almost 30% of the people working in the private sector are working on part time jobs, earning 385,53 euros per month (Kathimerini, 2018).

Figure 14: Declared (average) income in the metropolitan region of Athens (2013). In brown color the low-income regions and in purple color the high-income regions. The areas located close or on the city center of Athens are categorized as low-income regions. Source: (Πανταζής & Ψυχάρης 2016) - Athens Social Atlas

In addition to the above and according to Eurostat in 2014, the Region of Attica5 was recorded as the EU region with the highest level of long-term unemployment at 27,3%, while the EU average stands at 9,7%. (Municipality of Athens p.25, 2016). Nowadays, this figure stands approximately at 21,6%6 (Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2018).

5 The administrative level of Region is the lowest administrative and geographical level that can be recorded according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority. In smaller administrative units such as municipalities, statistical errors are a frequent phenomenon (Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2017). 6 Average (mean) of the last 14 months.

Figure 15: Percentage of unemployment in the region of Attica. Source: Αθήνα Αναδυόμενη Μητρόπολη - Προκαταρτική Αξιολόγηση Ανθεκτικότητας (Municipality of Athens p.25, 2016) This economic deprivation seems to be visible during the economic crisis taking into account phenomena such as homelessness and panhandling.

Homelessness in Greece is not only defined in the lack of housing but also if housing exists but there is no access to water or electricity, according to article 29 of the Greek Law (Government Gazette 14, 2012). Apparently, in this thesis, the former case of homelessness will be recorder and analyzed. Under this category, the amount of homeless in the center of the city of Athens has skyrocketed during the previous years, largely because of the economic crisis and the large influx of immigrants flooding in Greece due to increases migration (Βλάση p.10-11, 2013). While it is difficult for one to estimate precisely the exact number of people who are homeless, the Human Rights Watch of the UN (2015) estimates that approximately 20.000 homeless people are nowadays living in Greece and in particular 9.000 of them currently live in Athens (Chrysopoulos, 2016). According to a recent survey of the Municipality of Athens, the majority of homeless in the city center of the capital are Greek (62%) and almost half of those people (47%) ended up on streets after losing their jobs during the period of the economic crisis (Kathimerini, 2016). More than 71% of those people became homeless during the last 6-7 years (Kathimerini, 2016).

Homelessness in Athens, due to the vulnerability of its population, seems to be related to other phenomena considered as social disorders, such as the use of drugs in public spaces (approximately 42% on a total of 451 homeless people openly admitted that are using drugs), panhandling, other phenomena such as increased migration rates, high unemployment rates, or extreme poverty in general (Βλάση p.10, 2013) making the alleviation of this phenomenon a major concern for the national and municipal authorities. It is striking that, according to a research conducted by the University of

Athens in association with the Organization Against Drugs (OKANA), the lack of housing was deemed as one the main factors contributing to the increase in the transmission of HIV between drug users in the metropolitan region of Athens (Χονδρόγιαννος, 2017).

On the other hand, the phenomenon of panhandling is very difficult to be measured in absolute numbers, given that the population of panhandlers is characterized by an increased mobility which is not only restricted within the narrow boundaries of a city, but it takes place even between different countries (Ονισένκο, 2012). The latter category often falls under the generic categorization of organized crime and human trafficking and characterized the population of panhandlers in Greece before or during the dawn of the economic crisis, with an increased mobility of panhandlers through the Balkan borders (Ονισένκο, 2012). Consequently, many of the panhandlers use to exercise begging as a profession and to share their profits with people that monitor their activity, either at their will or not (Κυριακόπουλος, 2017). While there are no official statistics regarding the exact population of panhandlers in Athens, rough estimations are referring to a figure reaching 50.000 panhandlers that are currently ‘operating’ in Greece (Κυριακόπουλος, 2017), with many of them living close or in the city center of Athens. A vast number of the panhandler population seems to be controlled by a sum of 200-250 groups, an activity that produces a daily turnover of approximately 1 million euros per day, causing headache to the relevant authorities (Κυριακόπουλος, 2017). In spite of the lack of official statistical data on the issue, the majority of the panhandlers seem to be immigrants, although the percentage of native people has increased sharply during the aforementioned crisis (Katsounaki, 2016).

As a result, a large number of Athenians possess feelings that range from insecurity to apathy for the seemingly unfortunate ones due to the magnitude of this phenomenon and its presence on the everyday life of the citizens. Persistent or aggressive panhandling is evident not only in the public spaces of the city of Athens, but surprisingly, also in the public transport of the Greek capital. Until recently, there were no bars or frequent ticket inspection in the majority of the public transport, with the line 1 of Athens Metro (Ηλεκτρικός-ISAP) being perhaps the most characteristic and indicative example where various panhandlers rotate between the wagons on a daily basis and almost during the whole day (Katsounaki, 2016).

The phenomenon of panhandling is also interconnected with numerous other phenomena of social disorder. Empirical evidence suggests that an increased number of aggressive or persistent panhandlers in Athens are also drug users while some of them are homeless as well, interconnecting all these issues of social and criminal disorder, resulting in a complex phenomenon that is left to be handled by the police and the municipal authorities ("Oι επαίτες της Αθήνας", 2009).

Indicators of poverty Outcomes of desktop research Income & pensions dramatically slashed Income People below the poverty line increased Indications of concentration of low-income population close to the city center Unemployment Rates significantly increased during crisis Homelessness Skyrocketed during the economic crisis Panhandling Large population in the city center

Table 1: Outcomes of desktop research based on the selected indicators of the concept of poverty

4.2.2 The concept of ethnic heterogeneity

The concept of ethnic heterogeneity will be presented on this chapter in order to provide the reader with the necessary theoretical foundations. The data collected are based on governmental and media reports including statistical data and data based on surveys on the Municipality of Athens. The field research will further elaborate on the indicators in the chapters that will follow. This concept is difficult to be measured in absolute numbers in the level of the Municipality of Athens due to the difficulty to record the exact population of documented and undocumented immigrants and refugees. Most of the available statistical data are based on the level of the country, however in lack of more specific data, those data are indicative given that at least 40% of the documented migrant population used to prefer the Municipality of Athens as a destination (Καραϊσκακη, 2007).

During the first years of the economic crisis, the (documented) population of immigrants in Greece and in turn in Athens, was gradually reducing in numbers due to austerity and a shortage of jobs (Μπίτσικα, 2016). However, this situation changed in 2014, as a result of the migration crisis that affected Greece (Μπίτσικα, 2016). A small increase in the number of documented immigrants was recorded and there are

33 indications that this figure might still be increasing slightly (Μπίτσικα, 2016). In 2011, documented immigrants were estimated at 621.178, while in 2013 the same population was estimated approximately at 405.306 reaching 557.476 people at 2016 (Μπίτσικα, 2016).

Figure 16: Number of documented immigrants (non EU) in Greece (in thousands) 2011-2016 700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0 2011 n.d 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of documented migrants in Greece (non EU)

Figure 17: Nations that most documented Immigrants originated from in Greece, 2016

Albania Ukraine Georgia Pakistan India Egypt Philipines Moldova Baglades Syria China Serbia

Source: Μπίτσικα, 2016. Regarding the number of the undocumented immigrants and refugees, around 30.000 were estimated in Greece and 10.000 were estimated in Athens by the Hellenic Police Force, during the peak of the migration crisis (Γκαβέας, 2016).

Based on a survey conducted on behalf of the Municipality of Athens in 2017, 91% of the people living in the Municipality have stated that there are people of different ethnic background or religion living in their neighborhood, while a 44% of the citizens stated that those people are refugees (Παρατηρητήριο του Δήμου Αθηναίων για τους Πρόσφυγες & τους Μετανάστες, 2017). In the same survey, 54% of the respondents believe that the refugees cannot integrate in the Greek community and way of living (Παρατηρητήριο του Δήμου Αθηναίων για τους Πρόσφυγες & τους Μετανάστες, 2017).

The Municipality of Athens provides shelter to refugees within its “borders”, on special hosting centers (1.600 refugees) and apartments (901 refugees) located mostly on the city center of Athens (Παρατηρητήριο του Δήμου Αθηναίων για τους Πρόσφυγες & τους Μετανάστες, 2017). Based on this sample of refugees, the majority of them originates from Syria, while some people are from Afghanistan, Iran, and some are of Kurdish ethnic background. Small numbers of Iraqi, Palaistinians and people from Africa has been also recorded (Παρατηρητήριο του Δήμου Αθηναίων για τους Πρόσφυγες & τους Μετανάστες, 2017).

Figure 18: Concentration of immigrants in the Municipality of Athens based on the last census of 2011. It can be seen that the density of migrant population is generally higher close to the city center of the city (in dark color). Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2015

It is striking that only a 7% of the refugees would like to stay in Greece and in Athens, pointing out at Germany as their final destination (Παρατηρητήριο του Δήμου Αθηναίων για τους Πρόσφυγες & τους Μετανάστες, 2017) and thus highlighting the increased residential mobility that characterizes this population currently located in the city of Athens. In addition to the above, the majority of the respondents (65%) does not plan or want to work in Greece. Last but not least, only a small percentage of the population speaks Greek (less than 3%), while around 20% of the refugees responded that it might intend to learn Greek (Παρατηρητήριο του Δήμου Αθηναίων για τους Πρόσφυγες & τους Μετανάστες, 2017).

Indicators of heterogeneity Outcomes of desktop research Number of documented immigrants stable Immigrants Number of undocumented immigrants large High concentration close to city center Ethnicity Multicultural neighborhoods in the center Language Heterogeneity in the refugee population No sufficient data on the rest of population Table 2: Outcomes of desktop research based on the selected indicators of the concept of (ethnic) heterogeneity

4.2.3 The concept of physical dilapidation

The concept of physical dilapidation is a concept that in this thesis is analyzed based on indicators such as the amount of litter, graffiti, abandoned buildings and users of drugs in public spaces, following the paradigm of the most common used indicators for relevant concepts (Ζαραφωνίτου, 2016; Skogan, 2012). Emphasis will be put on the indicator of the use of drugs in public spaces given that it is one of the phenomena that the theory aims to interpret and given that the rest of the indicators of this concept should be spatially defined, and a field observation is the most suitable way to measure them (Skogan, 2012, p.176).

The residents of the city center of Athens are familiar with physical dilapidated places even before the dawn of the economic crisis (Γιάνναρου, Καρανάτση & Ονισένκο, 2008). Drug trafficking, the use of drugs in public spaces, prostitution, the large concentration of undocumented immigrants, public drinking, conflicts in public space,

36 old or abandoned buildings and litter were the main phenomena that the citizens of the center used to complain about (Γιάνναρου, Καρανάτση & Ονισένκο, 2008).

The Municipality of Athens was aware of those phenomena in certain public spaces during the dawn of the crisis. The Municipal strategy that was published on 2010 (Α.Θ.Η.Ν.Α.Ι.) attempted to depict certain areas of delinquency and physical dilapidation in the center of Athens.

Figure 19: “Hotspots of Delinquency in the Municipality of Athens” according to “Α.Θ.Η.Ν.Α.Ι. – Ιστορικό Κέντρο” plan. In blue: Homeless spots, in pink (stripes): Homelessness & drugs, in green: undocumented immigrants, in red: Prostitution. The black dots are the recorded abandoned buildings. Source: Α.Θ.Η.Ν.Α.Ι. 2010 (Ασφάλεια και Παραβατικότητα στον Δήμο Αθηναίων, 2010)

As it can be seen in figure 19, there are many areas surrounding Omonoia square that were characterized by phenomena of social and criminal disorder and signs of physical dilapidation such as abandoned buildings.

Nowadays, it seems that those kinds of phenomena are still evident in certain public spaces of the city of Athens. A characteristic example of physical dilapidation is the amount of abandoned buildings located around the city center of Athens. In 2013, 18%

37 of the commercial and 25% of the residential buildings located around the center of Athens (Omonoia) were abandoned, and until today this figure has barely changed, according to Dr. Nikos Triantafyllopoulos, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning & Real Estate at the School of Engineering at the University of Thessaly (2018). Dr. Triantafyllopoulos also notes that “The high rate of vacant or abandoned property in the center of Athens is the most characteristic expression of the crisis that (the city center) is experiencing.” (Triantafyllopoulos, 2018).

In the wider area of Omonoia, the use of drugs in public space, prostitution and homelessness are a common sight for the local residents (Χονδρόγιαννος, 2017). In particular, the use of drugs seems to be interrelated with phenomena such as homelessness which increased during the years of the crisis. According to KEΘΕΑ, in 2010, the 24,5% of the drug users supported that had only temporary or no home at all. Nowadays, the same figure stands approximately at 42%. (Χονδρόγιαννος, 2017).

Sotiris Papadopoulos however, street worker in the Organization Against Drugs (OKANA) does not believe that neighborhoods like Omonoia are the ones to blame for this situation. According to him “Omonoia, for which many (people) today are complaining, is not the problem, it is the place that the problem occurs” (Χονδρόγιαννος, 2017).

I contacted several times via phone with the relevant street work department of OKANA and with S.Papadopoulos where I kindly asked him for an interview. Due to his limited time and unpredictable schedule due to the nature of his job, he could not answer my questions however he referred me to an online interview that he gave on the topic in December 2015 and allowed me to use that data instead for the needs of this thesis (Street work department of OKANA, personal communication, May 24-31, 2018). The data are presented here, given that are based on an open source.

According to Papadopoulos, the most intense phenomenon that is evident in the public spaces of Athens during the years of the economic crisis, is a growing interconnection between homelessness and the use of drugs in public spaces (Παπαδόπουλος, 2015). The former seems to be a consequence of the latter according to Papadopoulos.

Regarding the most intense relevant problems that one can experience in the center of Athens, S.Papadopoulos noted that “Other difficulties that we notice is the intense use of drug injection in public view, in the center of the city” and he added that “It was

38 happening (in the past), in smaller scale. Nowadays, there are many regions in the city center of Athens that drug injection is taking place.” (Παπαδόπουλος, 2015). Regarding the percentage of immigrants in the drug user population of the city center, he added that the figure stands approximately at 10-15% according to the data of the street work department.

S.Papadopoulos denies the characterization of ghetto in areas that experience those phenomena. He instead points out that abandoned and neglected areas are the easiest ones to become hotspots of drug trafficking and drugs use. Those hotspots of drug trafficking are relatively stable in certain places, but in case those hotspots move, chances are that are not moving more than a distance of 2km from the previous spot, making those phenomena attached to certain areas of the city center of Athens. According to him, “The city center is more appealing if someone wants to keep his anonymity or to hide in the crowd. In a neighborhood of Athens, that person would be targeted” (Παπαδόπουλος, 2015).

Physical dilapidation of certain places in Athens and to what extent those areas can be characterized as ghettos, has concerned not only the citizens, but researchers of criminology as well. Relevant empirical studies conducted in the city center (2011 & 2013) conclude that those areas cannot be characterized as ghettos, mostly due to the absence of a dominant minority group and due to the fact that there is no definite segregation of a minority group (Zarafonitou & Chrysochoou, 2015, p. 77).

Indicators of physical dilapidation Outcomes of desktop research Drug-injection increased in recent years Use of drugs in public spaces Linkages with homelessness City center appealing due to lack of controls Graffiti No sufficient data Litter No sufficient data Abandoned buildings Considerable number of abandoned buildings during the crisis period Distribution of physical degradation Numerous areas around the city center Table 3: Outcomes of desktop research based on the selected indicators of the concept of physical dilapidation

4.2.4 Concluding remarks on desktop research

The data collected by open sources gave clear indications on the vast majority of the indicators of the theoretical concepts. The concept of poverty seems to be totally in line with the devastating effects that the economic crisis had on the quality of life of the Athenians. Income levels have been dramatically reduced, unemployment rates have been skyrocketed, phenomena like homelessness have gradually increased as well while panhandling seems a common phenomenon in crowded spaces.

Moreover, the city center of Athens is characterized by considerable heterogeneity which became more apparent with the recent migrant crisis that hit Greece and subsequently Athens. The high (residential) mobility that characterizes this population located on the city center seems to be in line with some of the characteristics of social disorganization theory given that transient and heterogenous population is difficult to be “controlled” by a community or a neighborhood.

Finally, physical dilapidation is also evident in numerous places in the center of Athens. A high concentration of deserted buildings and other signs of deprivation, and phenomena such as the use of drugs in public space have increased during the course of the crisis.

There are clear indications that areas that suffer from social disorder phenomena do exist in certain areas located around the city center of Athens, where populations such as the users of drugs exploit the anonymity and perhaps the lack of community controls that the centers seem to offer (Παπαδόπουλος, 2015). However, in order to answer which are those areas, the perspective of a law enforcement agency directly involved in the topic and the administrative perspective of the Municipality of Athens will be invaluable.

4.3 The administrative perspective on social disorders: Communication with the Hellenic Police Force & the Municipality of Athens

In order to supplement the findings of the desktop research and to measure in-depth the selected indicators, I decided to contact with the Hellenic Police Force and the Municipality of Athens, the relevant authorities for recording those phenomena, alleviating their root causes, and countering any possible undesirable outcomes of those phenomena on the sense of (in)security for the citizens of Athens.

The questions were formed taking into account the indicators of the theoretical concepts and the needs of the research questions of this thesis, following however an open-ended nature, in order not to get biased responses.

The questionnaires were kept short with no questionnaire exceeding ten (10) questions and the questions varied depending on the interviewee. No pilot questionnaires/survey were used due to the small sample and the expertise of the practitioners in the Hellenic Police Force and the Municipality of Athens which made any pilot study difficult to be conducted effectively. However, the questionnaires were reviewed by my colleagues in the Center for Security Studies (KEMEA), where I currently do my internship providing me with some useful insights before I email them to the authorities. The language of the questionnaires is Greek, and the translation of the questions and the original answers is mine. The answered questionnaires in full length can be found in Appendix A.

4.3.1 Questionnaire and discussion with the head of KYADA’s Social Service Department, Ms. Eleni Triantafyllou

I visited KYADA’s Social Service Department during working hours. KYADA is an organization of the Municipality of Athens, responsible for recording homelessness and other poverty related phenomena that are linked to or affect the homeless people and the citizens of Athens. The main aim of KYADA is to alleviate those phenomena that affect the citizens of Athens during the economic crisis. Consequently, this questionnaire and discussion emphasizes on the indicators of the concept of poverty, in order to give a view of a practitioner actively involved in the topic and to supplement the findings of desktop research on those indicators.

Ms. Triantafyllou, the head of KYADA’s Social Service Department accepted me to have a discussion in her office. Ms. Triantafyllou had a limited time available and the office was not the best environment to conduct an interview, so we agreed to answer the questions that I had though the questionnaire that I would email her. However, we had a small, unofficial discussion in her office. In our short discussion, Ms. Triantafyllou made undoubtedly clear that the consequences of the economic crisis were devastating for many people living in the Municipality of Athens and who lost their jobs due to the crisis or for people that are unable to live with their current income. The general sense that this discussion gave me was that poverty rates were getting higher year after year and this was translated to an increase in the number of homeless people in Athens. Moreover, Ms. Triantafyllou made clear to me that due to the long- term residence in the streets, a considerable number of those people suffer from psychological disorders. Finally, and in relation to panhandling, Ms. Triantafyllou described me some cases of people that exercised begging while claiming to be homeless, or generally in need, however this was not the case.

The questionnaire provided to Ms. Triantafyllou was focused mostly on the homeless, the root causes that made them live on the streets, which areas in the city center of Athens have the highest concentration of homeless and what are their characteristics, how is this phenomenon interrelated with other phenomena of social disorder and how this phenomenon has evolved during the course of the economic crisis (See Appendix A for the full questionnaire).

Regarding the background of the homeless people in Athens, Ms. Triantafylloy noted that most of the homeless have not completed the obligatory education which is up to junior high school in Greece, they are unemployed, poor people without any kind of support by their family and friends. Most of the time, those people have debts to banks, social security funds, unpaid rents etc.

In relation with the economic crisis and the amount of jobless people during the years of the crisis Ms. Triantafylloy added “There are many people who did not succeed in their jobs and were forced to abandon their homes and became part of a homeless (social) structure. There are no exact data for this (regarding also the number of people or their nationality) however we witness those things during their arrival in order to ask for shelter”.

Regarding the distribution of public spaces in the city center of Athens that have a higher concentration of homeless people, Ms. Triantafyllou indicated that “Omonoia and the surrounding areas, the park of Thisio, Strefi Hill, Pedion (tou) Areos, and the area of Monastiraki” are some of those areas. During our discussion, Ms. Triantafyllou and the street workers of KYADA that were present, indicated also the square of Victoria, Solonos, Iasonos, and Deligiorgi streets, Theatrou Square, and the wider region of Kerameikos as areas with homeless people.

In the question of “With what criteria do homeless people choose certain public spaces and what are the characteristics of this places?”, Ms. Triantafyllou responded that “They want to be in places that are protected from weather phenomena and to be close to central places where they can satisfy their needs”

According to Ms. Triantafyllou, homeless, panhandling and use of drugs in public spaces may be interconnected in some cases. “There are many people that even though they have a house to live, they stay on the streets pretending to be homeless in order to panhandle. Moreover, the users of drugs are practicing panhandling in order to purchase drugs”.

Finally, Ms. Triantafyllou added that the people living in Athens seem to be sensitive towards the phenomenon of homelessness and try to practically help the people in need. There are sometimes however, that they resent when a homeless person uses the entrance of their home.

Indicators of poverty Outcomes from short discussion & questionnaire Income People having debts, unable to pay Unemployment Career failure, forced to abandoned home Most people unemployed, without support Homelessness Interconnection with use of drugs and panhandling Panhandling Interconnection with use of drugs and homelessness Table 4: Outcomes of the unofficial discussion & answers to the questionnaire in relation to the selected indicators

4.3.2 Questionnaires given to the General Police Directorate of Attica and the Sub-Directorate of Drug Enforcement of the Hellenic Police Force

In line with the needs of this thesis, I communicated with the Hellenic Police Force (EL.AS.) and asked for directions on how to conduct an official interview with a police officer regarding the selected phenomena. Due to shortage of time and the procedure that was needed to get the permission to certain data, the option of a written questionnaire was selected instead by both me and the officers of EL.AS. In communication with the relevant Directorate (Communications Directorate of the Hellenic Police Force), I kindly asked for at least two respondents that ideally have both administrative and operational experience on poverty related phenomena of social disorder such as the use of drugs in public spaces and panhandling. The answers and the visuals that included below are created based on the official answers and information provided by the General Police Directorate of Attica and the Sub- Directorate of Drug Enforcement of the Hellenic Police Force in written form.

In the question regarding the course of the phenomenon of the public use of drugs and the phenomenon of panhandling in the public spaces of the city of Athens during the

economic crisis period, I received the following table as an answer:

(

gr.) gr

( (

(

.) .)

OCAINE

gr gr tabl

TIME TIME PERIOD CASES ARRESTED HEROIN C ( CANNABIS ( SEDATIVES ( METHADON LIQ. OPIUM METAMPET AMINE 2011 286 396 498 1 1.340 8.383 124 0 0

2012 586 602 726 68 822 14.912 1.070 0 0

2013 231 285 533 178 23.403 1.551 39 0 0

2014 63 74 2.273 302 2.736 602 947 0 0

2015 76 85 2.293 1 21 731 896 8 0

2016 48 71 15 287 18.415 426 0 0 0

2017 37 40 13 2 52.410 0 0 0 16

Table 5: Reported cases of drug possession in public spaces during the years 2011-2017 (translated and edited). For the original, full table, see Appendix A

586

286 231

76 63 48 37 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Reported cases of drug possesion in the center of Athens

Given that I received no official response for panhandling, I decided to call the Communication Directorate of the Hellenic Police Force for further explanations on the issue. Following a communication via telephone, the Communication Directorate replied that there are no further data regarding this phenomenon and instead pointed out to the published statistical data available on the webpage of the Hellenic Police Force7. According to those data figure 21 was created:

259

126 122

44 26 35 29

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Prosecutions

The second question was the following: “Are there specific areas in the center of Athens where these phenomena seem to thrive, and if so which are these areas, and what are their main characteristics?” The answer that I received was the following: “Areas close to Universities (Sina and Tositsa streets) where the EL.AS's presence due to asylum is

7 Στατιστικά στοιχεία – Υπ. Εσωτερικών και Διοικητικής Ανασυγκρότησης. Data retrieved from: http://www.astynomia.gr/index.php?option=ozo_content&perform=view&id=81&Itemid=73&lang=

45 more difficult. Parks (e.g. Pedion Areos), whose maintenance was neglected, either there was a gathering of people, while actions of assistance were taking place for sensitive population groups”.

Regarding the ethnic background of the users of drugs that are arrested, the Hellenic Police Force indicated that they are Greek in their vast majority. Indicatively, 85% of the people arrested for possessing drugs in 2017, were Greek according to the answers of the questionnaire.

Regarding the phenomenon of panhandling, the Hellenic Police Force did not give any other data, or answers to the questionnaire, however indicated that in line with the Special Police Plan for the wider Center of Athens, phenomena such as illicit trade, street crime and panhandling are countered in a 24-hour base (Communications Directorate, personal communication, May 29, 2018).

Last but not least, taking into account the official reports released by EL.AS., some cases (4 on 2016 and 3 on 2015) of panhandling are related to organized crime (human trafficking) and were recorded by the Hellenic Police (Τμήμα Ανάλυσης και Αντιμετώπισης Εγκλήματος, 2016 & 2017). According to those reports, “the exploitation of people for panhandling was taking place in large urban centers, in crowded places” (Τμήμα Ανάλυσης και Αντιμετώπισης Εγκλήματος, 2017, p.73). Finally, the report noted that the exploitation of panhandling took place mostly within a family context, whereas the victims were members of the family (Τμήμα Ανάλυσης και Αντιμετώπισης Εγκλήματος, 2017, p.74).

Indicators (by all concepts) Outcomes from questionnaire & report Ethnicity 85% of people arrested are Greek Distribution of physical degradation Around the city center, mostly parks and neglected areas close to universities Cases fallen dramatically during the crisis Use of drugs in public spaces Prefer areas close to universities due to asylum Prefer neglected places (e.g.) parks Prosecutions fallen dramatically during crisis Panhandling May have links to organized crime (trafficking or exploitation including family members) Homelessness No data/Responses Table 6: Outcomes of the questionnaire’s answers and official reports

4.3.3 Concluding remarks on questionnaires

The communication with KYADA and the Hellenic Police Force gave some information of supplementary nature regarding the selected indicators. The phenomenon of homelessness seems to have increased in numbers during the economic crisis, where the majority of the people living on the streets were forced to abandon their houses, because of unemployment, low income, or debts. The discussion with Ms. Triantafyllou highlighted once more the apparent links that homelessness and poverty share, while underlined that this phenomenon is interconnected with phenomena such as the use of drugs in public spaces or panhandling.

However, the results from the Hellenic Police Force contradicted some of the findings of the desktop research. According to the statistical data provided by EL.AS. the recorded cases for the use of drugs in public space and the prosecutions for panhandling have plummeted during the yeas of the economic crisis. These findings do not seem to correspond with the perception of the people of the city center (Κωνσταντάτου & Βυθούλκας, 2018) and practitioners (Papadopoulos, 2015) about those phenomena in the center of the city. However, it has to be noted that a smaller number of recorded cases and prosecutions, does not mean necessarily that those phenomena have been reduced. Not all the cases of use of drugs in public space and panhandling are reported to the police. Moreover, and regarding the phenomenon of panhandling, where prosecutions dropped by 64% from 2012 to 2013, it can be seen that panhandling was downgraded to the level of misdemeanor (πταίσμα) in the Greek penal code during that time, according to law 4055 of 2012. This decision might relate to the increasing number of panhandlers in public spaces and might be indicative of a more tolerant approach regarding this phenomenon by the Greek governments during the economic crisis period.

Regarding the rest of the data provided, the vast majority of the users of drugs in public spaces are Greeks, while this population prefer neglected areas, or areas that make police intervention difficult, such as areas close to universities which are considered areas of asylum and the police cannot intervene without permission of the rector council of the university unless serious crime, or crime against the human life is taking place according to law 4485 (Article 3 § 2, of 2017). Finally, it can be concluded that the population of panhandlers is characterized by an increased mobility which makes the

47 phenomenon difficult to be recorded. Unlike the users of drugs or the homeless who seem to prefer neglected places, panhandlers seem to select crowded places in order to exercise begging, which differentiates them from the population of homeless or users of drugs.

With the answers provided by the Hellenic Police Force and KYADA of the Municipality of Athens and taking into account the data collected from the open sources, figure 22 which represents the areas that seem to experience the highest concentration of the aforementioned social disorder phenomena was created.

Figure 22: The areas that experience the highest concentration of social disorder phenomena related to poverty based on the answers of the questionnaires, informal interviews and media reports. In the center of the map, Omonoia square is highlighted. With green color: Homelessness; and with red color: use of drugs in public spaces. No sufficient data on the population of panhandlers at this stage. Map created with Scribble Maps program. Source: Google maps

Based on those areas the third and final method will be presented in the following chapter. From the aforementioned areas, five areas will be selected in order to confirm the existence of social disorder phenomena in certain areas of the city center of Athens, while also measuring physical dilapidation that can be observed in these places.

4.4 Field research in the public spaces of Athens

The main aim of this research is to collect all the necessary empirical data based on the indicators of the selected theory, in the course of answering the main research question of this thesis. The indicators of the concept of physical dilapidation (existence and density of graffiti, litter, abandoned buildings and users of drugs in public space) will be analyzed, satisfying the ecological perspective of the theory of social disorganization. Moreover, during the field observation, some other indicators will be also measured, such as the indicators of the concept of ethnic heterogeneity (existence and density of different ethnicity, variation of languages heard, or the existence of immigrant groups), as well as of the concept of poverty (existence or density of homeless people or panhandlers) in the selected areas.

However, with this method, it will be also possible to answer the subquestion of this thesis, which is a necessary step towards the main research question. Consequently, this data collection method has a dual role. Not only will partly confirm or deny empirically the research findings of the previous methods (desktop research and questionnaires) but it will also shed light to the existence (or not) of areas with social disorder phenomena in the city center of Athens and their main characteristics.

4.4.1 Previous empirical researches on social & physical disorder on Athens; The trajectory of social disorder during the economic crisis

Relevant researches have been conducted three times during the years of the economic crisis in Athens. The first was conducted in the early years of the crisis in 2011 with a follow-up research in 2013 in five areas of the city center of Athens (Zarafonitou & Chrysochoou, 2015). Those empirical researches were mainly focused on the existence of certain environmental and community characteristics that could define the selected areas of the city center of Athens as ghettos, and the observations took place in five central squares of Athens, the Victoria Square, Theatrou Square, Kotzia Square, St. Constantine Square and Vathis Square. Those observations included among others the numbers of homeless, beggars, users of drugs in public spaces, immigrants, foreigners and abandoned buildings in the selected areas. It was found that most of those areas

49 shared common characteristics of physical dilapidation and social disorder, however, the follow-up research of 2013, showed that the situation seemed to have improved slightly from 2011 (Zarafonitou & Chrysochoou, 2015). Most of the local residents however remained unsatisfied with their quality of life and intended to leave their areas given the chance, while their vast majority perceived themselves as a minority in their area of residence, with positive answers reaching 70%-85% at 2011 and 50%-80% on 2013 (Zarafonitou & Chrysochoou, 2015, p.59, 65).

In 2016, another empirical research was conducted, emphasizing on the physical and social disorder characteristics of certain places (Victoria Square, Theatrou Square, St. Pavlos Square, Vathis Square and the area around the National Technical University of Athens) in the city center of Athens. (Ζαραφωνίτου, 2016). The use of questionnaires that were given to the residents of those areas confirmed that those areas are more than familiar with those phenomena. According to the question “Which of the following activities are taking place in your region and with what frequency?”, the most common encountered phenomena in those areas were the use of drugs in public space (96,0%), panhandling (94,6%), refugees/immigrants (94,0%), and homelessness (90,6%) and regarding physical disorder the most common answers included closed stores (95,3%), abandoned buildings (90,4%) neglected buildings/roads (86,3%), graffiti (85,3%) noise (82,6%), and street litter (80,7%) (Ζαραφωνίτου, 2016).

It can be seen that during the previous years of the economic crisis, most of these problems remained in some of the public spaces in Athens. It is left to be seen which is the current situation on some of the areas, in areas that seem to experience the same problems today.

4.4.2 The current situation in the public spaces of Athens; A field observation on social disorders and physical dilapidation

Following the trajectory of the previous empirical observations that took place during the economic crisis period in 2011, 2013 and 2016, the current situation (2018) will be depicted. As a result, the field research was conducted in five central areas of the city center of Athens, that their public spaces were characterized by the intense presence of poverty-related social disorder phenomena. Those areas are Pedion (tou) Areos,

Victoria Square, Tositsa Street, Omonoia and the surrounding areas and the streets of Sina & Massalias.

Figure 23: The areas that the field observation was conducted. The cross is placed on Omonoia Square. Map created with Scribble Maps program. Source: Google maps

Their choice was based on the answers of the questionnaires, media reports, residents’ complaints (Κωνσταντάτου & Βυθούλκας, 2018) as well as previous research on the topic (Zarafonitou & Chrysochoou, 2015, p. 77). Following the paradigm and the methodology of previous empirical researches on this field (Zarafonitou & Chrysochoou, 2015) the field observation took place during a whole day (31/05/18), from early-morning hours, until the late-night hours. The data presented are divided into three different time periods that include: the morning and early afternoon hours (10:30-13:30), the late afternoon hours (16:00-18:00) and the night hours (09:30 – 11:30). During the morning and early afternoon hours, we also observed in-depth, the physical condition of the neighborhoods such as the density of graffiti and abandoned buildings in the area under observation. The rest of the phenomena that are of volatile nature and their density variates during the course of a day, such as the amount of litter, or the existence and density of certain populations such as drug users or homeless, were recorded in all of the aforementioned time zones. The research was conducted by me, while another friend of mine assisted me in taking pictures of the selected areas.

Therefore, any photographs presented on this chapter are mine, in line with the needs of this research and in order to provide a visualization of the indicators under investigation. Finally, the maps of each area are created by me with the use of the Scribble Maps program.

Figure 24: Pedion tou Areos map. Area covered: 55 hectares (approx.) Map created with Scribble Maps program. Source: Google maps

Pedion (tou) Areos: This name means “The field of Ares”, the god of war in the Greek mythology. This park is one of the largest in the city of Athens. Pedion tou Areos was the area mentioned in all of the questionnaires answered by the Hellenic Police Force and the KYADA of the Municipality of Athens, where it currently seems to be one of the biggest concerns of the local residents, directly affecting their sense of security (Κωνσταντάτου & Βυθούλκας, 2018). Consequently, this area was selected as the first one in order to conduct the field research. To supplement the findings, some photographs of the place were taken, characteristic of the current condition in the Pedion tou Areos park.

The walls surrounding the park are full of graffiti, while a considerable amount of litter, including old furniture, wet tissues and plastic bags are evident behind the closed bars of the park. Close to one of the central entrances of the park and besides the intercity public transport shuttles, an abandoned restaurant full of graffiti and litter stands still,

52 giving an impression of negligence for this area and the park as a whole (see Appendix B). In front of this side of the park (Mavromataion street), there were several abandoned houses and blocks of flats.

During the morning and early afternoon hours: The traffic out of the park is normal. There are pedestrians passing out of the park while some people, mostly elderly, are sitting outside the park. One person, with evident scars on his arms and foot, left quickly the park from a small breakthrough in the bars. There were also a number of people with the same characteristics, sitting in some stairs a few meters outside of the park.

By the time that we arrived, people from the Region of Attica with the supervision of some men from the Hellenic Police Force, were cleaning the place from litter, food leftovers and were collecting also other stuff such as blankets, mattresses or clothes. This scenery gave the impression that the homeless people living there at night, rushed to leave when the aforementioned authorities entered the park.

We entered the park where I walked though and covered its entire area. The traffic inside the park was limited however, there were a few people working out and some people walking their dogs in the park. Mostly, there were elderly people sitting on the benches inside the park. Most of the people seemed native, while there was a small yet evident population of foreigners, that looked like immigrants.

Behind some abandoned buildings inside the park, we noticed a higher concentration of litter, including condoms, loose syringes, apparently for drug injection (photo 1), and a package of a medicine against HIV (see Appendix B), definite characteristics of physical disorder and degradation (Skogan, 2012, p.175-176).

Photo 1: Pedion tou Areos park When we were approaching the exit towards Mavromataion street, I met and discussed with a cleaning team of the Region of Attica. The head of the operation informed me that they clean the park on a daily basis, including numerous used syringes among other stuff. When I gave him my impressions regarding the largely litter-free park, he informed that it was this section of the park that we were about to enter which is encountering the biggest problem with drug users and litter.

We headed towards the exit of Mavromataion street when we suddenly encountered a large influx of people rushing through the central exit, approximately 30 people which looked like drug users while the number was increasing rapidly within a few minutes time. We headed towards another exit where some people seemed to look suspiciously on us before hiding behind some trees in the park. Most of the people spoke in Greek language.

During the late afternoon hours: The traffic outside of the park was not as much as in the morning hours. Most of the people walking by were foreigners or students. We entered the park covering again most of its area. When I arrived in the area close to the Mavromataion street, I noticed more than 60 people sitting on this side of the park. On my left hand, around 20-30 people, seemingly like immigrants, were sitting in the grass

54 while some of them were using drugs. On my right hand, and closer to the exit, there were approximately the same number of people, speaking in Greek but also in other languages that I could not distinguish. My impression is that some of those languages were of eastern-European origin. Some of those people were homeless as well. The population located there seemed more calm and relaxed than in the morning and I tried to go through them in order to reach this specific exit. There were no reactions apart from the fact that some of the people stared at us while we were heading towards the exit.

During the night hours: There was little traffic around the park. Only a few people were walking in the perimeter of the park. The entrances were all closed at the time that I arrived. However, one door in the back side of the park (Bousgou street) was slightly open. We did not enter inside the park, because the entrance was forbidden at that time. When we arrived outside the area of the park that encounters these phenomena I was surprised to see a large number of people, more than 50, out of the abandoned building with the graffiti on its walls. Most of the people seemed to be foreigners, and some of them seemed to argue with each other. There were some people sleeping in the benches of the bus stops out of the park. I also noticed that there were people of other groups such as transgender.

Some of the people located there were throwing litter on the street outside the park, which was in a far worse condition that it was during the previous hours. Moreover, a considerable number of those people were using drugs, either through drug injection or smoking. However, the most striking thing that I noted was the presence of a seemingly expensive, black mini-van with tinted windows outside of the park. One athletic guy wearing black clothes was in the back of the parked mini-van seemingly waiting for something and looking around. In the meanwhile, I managed to notice that a person that looked like an immigrant was sitting in one of the seats of the van. While I am not able to tell the reason that this van was located there, it certainly did not look like a van giving humanitarian aid, since there was no relevant logo in the van, nor the people surrounding the van looked like volunteers or workers of an NGO.

Figure 25: Victoria Square map. Area covered: 4.5 hectares (approx.) Map created with Scribble Maps program. Source: Google maps Victoria Square: The square of Victoria is one of the oldest squares in Athens. It is considered an area with a bad reputation among its residents and the citizens of Athens (Zarafonitou & Chrysochoou, 2015, p. 66-67) Victoria Square and the streets surrounding this square are normally characterized by a high concentration of graffiti, litter and abandoned buildings (Αθηνάκης, 2017). It was one of the five areas included in the previous field researches measuring phenomena of social and physical disorder in 2011, 2013 and 2016 (Zarafonitou & Chrysochoou, 2015; Ζαραφωνίτου, 2016).

During the morning and early afternoon hours: There is an intense traffic in the streets around the square. The area is indeed characterized by the presence of some graffiti in the walls, and only a few litters close to the statue of the square, but it can be said that the area is in good condition during these hours. There are numerous people, mostly elderly, sitting in the cafés surrounding the square. The language that one can hear in the cafés is mostly Greek however there are some cafés that are owned by foreigners and the language of the menu or the signs are in Arabic. In the center of the square,

56 many immigrants and foreigners are sited (see Appendix B), and one can hear many different languages, a strong indication of the multicultural character of the area. There are only a handful of people that appear to be homeless (see Appendix B), and no signs of people using drugs. The neighborhood generally seemed very vivid. A car of the municipal police was parked with two policemen inside from the side of the square that the statue is located. Before I left the square, I asked a relatively young person working in the square about how often he witnesses phenomena like the use of drugs in public spaces or panhandling. The man laughed without saying anything. He later added that those are more than common phenomena in the square, mostly from the side of the statue where the concentration of immigrants is higher.

During the late afternoon hours: There is still a lot of traffic in the square and the surrounding streets however less than during the morning hours. In the center of the square one can see more than 100-120 immigrants sitting in the benches. There are many different languages that one can hear, however Greek was not one of them. There are hardly any signs of drug users, or homeless people, only a couple of panhandlers in a street close to Victoria outside of a supermarket. The center of the square is more crowded than before and seems to get more crowded as time goes by. There are a couple of policemen from the Hellenic Police Force speaking with a resident outside the metro station located on the square.

During the night hours: There is some traffic in the square, and some people are still sitting in the cafés surrounding the square. Approximately 100 people are sitting in the center of the square, most of them located close to the statue. 70-80 of them seemed to be immigrants. Due to the large concentration of people close to the statue of the square it is hard to tell if any person was using drugs. It seemed that the square had some more litter than before. The situation was relatively calm.

Figure 26: Tositsa and the surrounding streets map. With the red line in the center of the green area, Tositsa street. Area covered: 7.8 hectares (approx.) Map created with Scribble Maps program. Source: Google maps Tositsa street: The street of Tositsa is located in the area of Exarchia, in between the National Archaeological Museum and the National Technical University of Athens. It is a street that the phenomenon of the use of drugs in public space is frequently taking place according to the Hellenic Police Force while other kinds of physical dilapidation are evident as well in the area (Ζαραφωνίτου, 2016, p.15)

Figure 27: The street of Tositsa located between the National Archaeological Museum and the National Technical University of Athens. Source: iefimerida.gr

During the morning and early afternoon hours: The area is characterized by the presence of graffiti in the walls, while there are a lot of litter on the street. The traffic on Tositsa is limited however there are some people walking through the street with their dogs. Out of a closed entrance of the Technical University that was full of graffiti and seemed abandoned, six people seem to be using drugs through drug injection (photo 2).

Photo 2: People who were using drugs are sitting out of a closed entrance of the University While I was passing by, those people looked with suspicion however they did not react. The majority of the people in the area looked Greek, however there were some immigrants sitting in the benches of the street. In the streets around Tositsa and especially in the entrance of the museum, one panhandler was spotted.

During the afternoon hours: The area had some more litter than before. The traffic was once again limited, there were only 10 people on the street, 3 people using drugs, and 3-4 looked like drug users while a couple of them were homeless. One person yelled at us however we did not respond, and we just continued our walk through the area. Most of them looked like immigrants and foreigners. In the streets close to Tositsa, there were no signs of panhandlers, only a handful of drug users.

During the night hours: The area had bad lighting in most of its length. There were some litter through the street. Approximately 15 people most of which were foreigners were using drugs. A conflict between two of the drug users took place, where one of them started throwing some things to the other. The two men were arguing in a foreign language, but then walked together towards the Museum. Some police forces were located at the end of the street (Tositsa & 28hs Oktomvriou).

Figure 28: Omonoia square and the surrounding streets map. Area covered: 20 hectares (approx.) Map created with Scribble Maps program. Source: Google maps Omonoia and the surrounding areas: The square of Omonoia is, alongside with Syntagma Square, the central square of the Greek capital. Its name means “peace” or “concord”. According to KYADA of the Municipality of Athens and media reports (Χονδρόγιαννος, 2017), the streets in the wider perimeter of the square are characterized by a plethora of abandoned buildings (Λακασάς, 2016) and phenomena such as the use of drugs, prostitution, illicit trade, while the concentration of homeless people and panhandlers seems to be increased. Nowadays, the wider area of Omonoia is characterized by a bad reputation among the citizens of Athens (Χονδρόγιαννος, 2017). Certain places and squares of the wider region of Omonoia were included in the previous field researches measuring phenomena of social and physical disorder in 2011,

2013 and 2016 (Zarafonitou & Chrysochoou, 2015; Ζαραφωνίτου, 2016). We walked and crossed many of the neighboring streets, with the streets of Zinonos and Menandrou being the most characteristic examples of the above-mentioned phenomena.

During the morning and early afternoon hours: The square has some graffiti on its walls and the walls of the surrounding buildings. Most of the buildings and stores seem in generally good condition, however there are some buildings that seem like abandoned and one can notice them from the center of the square. Inside the square there are some public toilets, which is not easy to stand by them for a long time due to their smell especially if someone opens their doors.

There is a lot of traffic in the streets around the square, however, in the center of the square there are not so many people. Most of the people on the store around the square are Greek and are speaking in Greek, however there are a lot of foreigners as well, including some tourist and some people that looked like immigrants. Almost all of the people sitting in the center of the large square seemed like immigrants, with their total number not exceeding 100. Two immigrants in the center of the square were talking to another one and gave him something out of a blue, non-transparent, bag. Some of the immigrants conducted illicit trade of shoes and other stuff close to the square. However, there were almost no signs of drug users, homeless or panhandlers and the square was largely litter-free at that time.

We walked around the streets of Omonoia and we witnessed some panhandlers and homeless. At Sokratous street one panhandler and homeless person was fainted in the stairs of an abandoned building. In the Geraniou street, we witnessed only immigrants and unlike the fact that the street is relatively short, it was overcrowded with people speaking in a wide variety of different languages but not in Greek. The street was a characteristic example of a physical dilapidated place, having a plethora of abandoned buildings full of graffiti and litter (see Appendix B). Some of the people starred at us as we crossed the street, however, we encountered no problem in crossing the whole street.

We entered Menandrou square and crossed throughout the entire street with a car as well as in Zinonos. It is not an exaggeration to note that the street of Menandrou, especially in the level of Zinonos and Theatrou square gave us the impression that we were walking in a different country. The street close to Theatrou square and Zinonos

61 were overcrowded with people of various ethnicities, speaking only foreign languages, and there was a long flea market, of illicit trade with numerous goods being offered. Graffiti were decorating the walls of the buildings which, in their vast majority, looked like abandoned or neglected (photo 3).

Photo 3: Menandrou Street Close to Theatrou square, we saw numerous people using drugs and at least 4-5 people sleeping in the street with some of their stuff beside them. This area was the most degraded so far with many litter on the street and graffiti on the walls.

During the late afternoon hours: The traffic at Omonoia square was normal, a bit less than during the morning hours. Approximately 100 of immigrants were sitting close to the center of the square. Most of the people were communicating in Greek, with the exemption of the people at the center of the square. We noticed an increased presence of policemen out of one of the exits of the metro station and close to the center of the square, monitoring the situation and speaking with some people.

When we entered Menandrou and Zinonos, we witnessed once again numerous immigrants, illegal trading, use of drugs, public drinking and a few homeless people.

The homeless people that we saw close to Theatrou square were not there at that time of the day. A rough estimation regarding the number of the population of immigrants seen in that area is close to 500. Again, we heard no people speaking Greek during our short stay in this area.

During the night hours: In Omonoia square things were calm. The traffic had been dramatically reduced. Some immigrants were sitting in the center of the square. However, the situation was not the same in Menandrou square.

When we entered the street, we witnessed policemen patrolling the entrance to the street. We entered inside the street where we witnessed an increased mobility of immigrants and foreigners and some minor conflicts among them. Some of those people were sitting in the corners of the blocks looking towards the rest of the streets like watching over the entrance to their area.

Close to Sofokleous and Theatrou square, for the first time in this observation, we witnessed a chaos. Way too many litter of any kind were thrown in the streets which were in far worse condition than earlier in the day, some of the people were jumping or sitting upon parked cars while numerous others were using drugs or were drinking alcohol. The vast majority of the people were of different ethnic background, however, there were some transgender people and a few homeless that looked like Greek. Once again, the place was overcrowded, and the exact number of people was difficult to be estimated. However, it can be said that at least 300 people were present in those streets. Towards the end of the street, we noticed some panhandlers.

Figure 29: Sina & Massalias streets. Area covered: 5.5 hectares (approx.) Map created with Scribble Maps program. Source: Google maps The streets of Sina and Massalias: The streets of Sina and Massalias are two streets that are adjacent to the School of Law, Economics and Political Sciences of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. The Hellenic Police Force indicated the street of Sina, as one of the streets suffering the most from use of drugs in the public space. Moreover, the street of Sina and especially the street of Massalias are known by the citizens of Athens, the Municipality and students of the aforementioned School to suffer from those phenomena that directly affect the well-being of the students, the academic stuff of the University, as well as the residents (Municipality of Athens, 2017). The mayor of the city of Athens, G. Kaminis, in 2017, declared that he has repeatedly pledged for action by the relevant Ministry of Citizen Protection regarding the area of the Law School, the National Library of Greece, and the Deanery University of Athens

(Municipality of Athens, 2017). Therefore, this block is the fifth and last area that we covered through field research.

During the morning and early afternoon hours: The street of Sina is characterized by a strong presence of graffiti in the walls around the streets while some litter can be seen on the street. The traffic on the road is normal, and many people, the majority of whom are students, are crossing the street or wait in the bus stop. There is no sign of any drug user, homeless, or panhandler, neither any other phenomenon of disorder. However, this is not the case in Massalias street.

The park of Massalias street, located just outside the main entrance of the School of Economics and Political Sciences of National and Kapodistrian University, is a place that numerous student cross daily in order to reach their School. It is also characterized by a high density of graffiti and posters that decorate the walls of the School, and some litter in the center of the park and in the front door of the university (see Appendix B). At that time of the day, we witnessed 20 people, most of them looked like foreigners, and most of them were moving around the park (see Appendix B). At least 2-3 people were homeless, sleeping in some of the benches on the park (photo 4).

Photo 4: Massalias’ park. In front some graffiti where in the back one homeless person is discussing.

More than 12 people were seen to take drugs through drug injection techniques. A person helped another one in order to inject the drugs into his system through a syringe. It was striking to us that one other person was walking in the center of the park holding the syringe behind his ear, like a student or an artist hold their pen in this way. This was perhaps the most characteristic example of the lack of fear for being spotted, even though there was traffic out of the park at that time, especially of students.

During the late afternoon hours: The traffic on Sina street was limited, but there were still some people moving through the street, both Greek and foreigners. There were no signs of phenomena of social disorder.

The street of Massalias and especially the park out of the School had less traffic than before. A few students were seen crossing by the street close to the park from time to time. In the park, 14 people were sitting, 2 homeless and at least 10 drug users. The amount of litter was the same as before.

Photo 5: Homeless people on the park During the night hours: There is none crossing from the street of Sina at that time. However, there is no sign of any drug user or relevant phenomena. The amount of litter was a bit increased than in the afternoon hours.

The park of Massalias street had no traffic at all as well. 15-17 people, most of them using drugs and some of them homeless, were sitting in the center of the park. There were more litter than before in the center of the park. Towards the other side of the road, three policemen were patrolling the area.

4.4.3 Follow-up research on the Athens Metro stations

During the field research on the aforementioned areas, we noticed numerous cases of users of drugs in public space, while many of those people were also homeless. However, we saw little or no signs of panhandling in some of those areas which was striking given the magnitude of the problem of poverty and citizens complains according to desktop research, although this was in line with the decreased number of prosecutions during the last years of the crisis according to the statistical data of the Hellenic Police Force. Therefore, I decided to conduct a short follow-up research, of supplementary nature, to the main public transportation in the city center of Athens; the Athens Metro lines and stations of the center, in order to further measure the indicator of panhandling. Given that it is a mean of public transport and many people could avoid the ticket inspection or the newly-introduced bars, those stations and the metro travelling through them, can be considered public space of Athens as well.

Figure 30: Map of the Athens Metro in Athens. Source: STASY

The field research was conducted by me. Taking into consideration the open sources regarding panhandling and the frequent use of the public transport by the panhandlers (Katsounaki, 2016), I used both of the three lines (1, 2, 3) that are passing by the stations of the city center of Athens. I recorded only things that took place within the limits of the area under investigation mostly within the trains8. Therefore, the stations under investigation were Attiki, Viktoria, Omonoia, Monastiraki, Thiseio (Green Line – 1), Attiki, Stathmos Larisis, Metaksourgeio, Omonoia, Panepistimio, Syntagma, Akropoli (Red Line – 2), Kerameikos, Monastiraki, Syntagma, Evangelismos (Blue Line – 3). This short field research is divided into three different time periods: Early morning hours (09:00-10:00), afternoon hours (16:00-17:00) and night hours (22:00-23:00) and was conducted during 01-03 of June 2018.

Figure 31: Selected station of the city center that the field research was conducted

Metro Line 1 – Green Line (ISAP)

During early morning hours: The traffic is heavy in line 1. There are many people that rush to board on the wagons, that in turn are characterized by an intense presence of graffiti both on their outside, and their inside. During the course of the route from Attiki to Thisio and approximately 10 minutes onboard, three different panhandlers appeared,

8 Approximately 15,8m. in length and 3,2m wide.

68 two of them playing music and one of them “selling” tissues. The latter had scars on his feet, while he was walking with difficulty, and his voice was cracking at times.

During afternoon hours: The traffic is normal, many people use line 1, however, the wagons are not overcrowded. I witnessed one panhandler playing the accordion during the 10 minutes route and asking for money from the passengers, with almost no reaction from them.

During night hours: The traffic is limited however there are people using line 1. During the 10-minute route, one panhandler who claimed to be unemployed, was asking kindly from people to help him. A couple of people gave him some money.

Metro Line 2 - Red Line

During early morning hours: The Metro line 2 and its stations are clean in their vast majority. There are no signs of litter, or graffiti, with the exception of the Omonoia station that shares the station with Line 1 but the wagons are clean and the subway seems relatively new. The traffic is heavy from Attiki to Akropoli, a journey of approximately 10 minutes. One panhandler entered the metro from the first wagon and walked through the entire train before reaching Syntagma with almost none responding to him.

During afternoon hours: The traffic is heavy, since many people are coming back from their work. From Akropoli to Attiki, one panhandler, who claimed to be homeless, was walking with difficulty among the people in the crowded train that seemed to resent due to their difficulty to move as the person was walking through the train.

During night hours: The traffic is normal, there are many people using the Line 2. There was no sign of panhandlers during the 10-minute route.

Metro Line 3 – Blue Line

During early morning hours: The Line 3 and its stations seem in excellent condition. There are no signs of litter or graffiti. The research took place from Keramikos to Evangelismos station, a journey of 8 minutes. The traffic was heavy. In Evangelismos station, 2 panhandlers entered the wagon, playing music and asking people for money

69 in broken Greek. The male panhandler was of young age, and he was wearing some shorts that seemed like a swimsuit. The other panhandler was claiming to be unemployed and was “giving” some pens in return for money.

During afternoon hours: The traffic is heavy. From Evangelismos station, 2 panhandlers, seemingly a mother with her child, entered through the first wagon, playing the accordion and headed towards the other end of the train.

During night hours: The traffic is normal; some people use the train. There were no signs of panhandlers during the 8-minute route.

4.4.4 Concluding remarks on field research

During the field research on the selected areas of the city center of Athens, I had the opportunity to empirically test the findings of the previous research methods while also empirically measure the majority of the indicators of the theory in hand. It seems that the concept of ethnic heterogeneity, poverty and physical dilapidation were measured effectively based on empirical observations and most of the previous research findings were confirmed. All the areas located close or on the city center were characterized by great (ethnic) heterogeneity and certain “ecological” characteristics, such as a high concentration of graffiti or litter while most of them were also characterized by the visible presence of users of drugs. Taking also into account the previous field researches on the city center of Athens, it can be concluded that the existence of physical dilapidated places around the city center is confirmed. In addition, the existence of ethnic heterogeneity was also confirmed in a clear way in those areas which are populated by people of a wide ethnic background, mostly immigrants that communicate in a variety of foreign languages. Finally, the visible consequences of poverty such as homelessness, were also evident on those areas. The population of panhandlers seem to be partly differentiated given that are operating in crowded places during rush hours, such as the public transportation, and especially in Line 1, which seems as the most neglected one comparing to the other lines of the Metro of Athens, therefore confirming the media reports presented on chapter 4.2.1.

Figure 32: The areas that experience the highest concentration of the selected social disorder phenomena close to the city center of Athens, based on the outcomes of desktop research, questionnaires and confirmed by field research. With green color: homelessness, with red color: use of drugs in public spaces, with yellow color: immigrants/illicit trade. The blue line depicts the trajectory of the Athens Metro stations located around the center, where many panhandlers are operating. Map created with Scribble Maps program. Source: Google maps

The majority of the indicators that were measured were also visible in the previous field researches of 2011, 2013 and 2016, confirming the existence of certain phenomena of social disorder that are related to poverty, in the city center of Athens during the economic crisis period. Indicative of the relatively constant trajectory that these phenomena follow is the fact that the results of the field observations confirmed that the vast majority of the areas that were depicted by the Municipality of Athens in 2010 (figure 19, p.37) suffer in 2018 from the same problems.

Table 7 give a schematic view of the outcomes of the field research based on the indicators of the core concepts of the theory of social disorganization:

Indicators (all concepts) Outcomes of field research Very high (linguistic) heterogeneity in Victoria Sq. and Language Menandrou St (Omonoia). High (linguistic) heterogeneity in Tositsa St, Pedion Areos and Massalias St. Ethnicity Clear ethnic/racial heterogeneity in all areas Very high concentration at Victoria Sq. & Menandrou St. Immigrants High concentration in Tositsa, Pedion Areos, Massalias St. High concentration of users in Pedion Areos Numerous users at Menandrou St. (Theatrou Sq. level) Use of drugs in public Small but stable number of people (10-20) at Tositsa & spaces Massalias streets No drug users seen at Victoria Square Some of the people were homeless Very high concentration in most of the areas Graffiti High concentration in Metro (Green) Line– 1 Non-existent in Metro Lines 2&3 High concentration in most of the areas Litter Increased during the day, especially at night Included used syringes for drug injection, condoms, tissues, pieces of paper and plastic Considerable number around the areas Abandoned buildings High concentration of litter around them High concentration of graffiti on their walls Considerable number in Pedion Areos, Menandrou St. Homeless (Theatrou Sq. level) Small number at Massalias St. and Tositsa St. Small number on parks & squares Panhandling Evident presence at public transport during rush hours Relatively higher concentration on Metro (Green) Line – 1 Distribution of physical Confirmed in those areas (with the exception of Victoria Sq. degradation who were in a better condition) Table 7: Outcomes of field research based on the selected indicators

5. Discussion & Conclusion

This chapter concludes the findings of the research. The results of the main concepts of the theory will be presented and the supplementary characteristics of the social disorganization theory alongside with its main assumptions will be also evaluated based on the results of its main concepts. Subsequently, the sub-questions of this thesis will be answered, and the conclusion will include a final answer to the main research question and some proposals on the topic of social disorder taking into account the peculiarities of the Greek capital.

5.1 Discussion of results

Main Concepts of Social Disorganization Theory Conclusions Poverty Confirmed (Ethnic) heterogeneity Confirmed Physical dilapidation Confirmed Table 8: Conclusions on the main concepts of Social Disorganization Theory The main concepts of the social disorganization theory were confirmed in a clear and unambiguous way. The use of different data collections methods including desktop research, questionnaires and field research contributed to the increased validity of the outcomes of this research. The city center of Athens is characterized by high poverty rates among its residents, since the early years of the crisis (2011) and until today (2018). The high density of heterogenous population on the city center and the physical dilapidation of certain areas located on or around the center of the capital seem to contribute to the social disorganization of certain regions in the city center of Athens.

Other Characteristics of Social Disorganization Theory Conclusions Social disorganized areas located in “zone in transition” Partly confirmed High population density Partly confirmed High residential mobility Partly confirmed Other social ills (infant mortality) No sufficient data Table 9: Conclusions on the rest of the characteristics of social disorganization

Based on the analysis of the mains concepts of the theory and during the collection of the data, the existence of social disorganized areas around the city center, in what could resemble a zone in transition was confirmed (figure 32, chapter 4.4.4). However, due to the focus of this thesis to the city center of Athens, and the lack of data about the other “zones” of the concentric circle model in the city of Athens, it cannot be supported that only the city center is suffering from those phenomena, and no other zones of the proposed model. However, there are strong indications that the zone around the city center of Athens, has the majority of the characteristics that could define it as a “zone in transition”.

The high population density was also partly confirmed given that according to desktop research the city of Athens is one of the cities with the highest density rates in Europe. However, most of the data are based on the last census of 2011, and there is a lack of data regarding the people living currently in the center of the Athens, given that a large number of immigrants are undocumented. In spite of the above, the field research gave a clear indication that those areas are populated by a large number of people, therefore there are also strong indications that this condition is also met.

High residential mobility cannot be measured precisely due to the lack of available data. However, based on the high number of the abandoned buildings and the strong willingness of the local residents and migrants to relocate, the concept of high residential mobility is very likely to characterize the city center of Athens.

Finally, there were no sufficient data regarding the other social ills such as infant mortality, or diseases, therefore no conclusions can be made regarding this side aspect of the theory.

Sub-questions: Are there areas with poverty related social disorder phenomena in the city center of Athens during the economic crisis period (2011-2018)? If so, which areas are and what are their main characteristics?

During the desktop research and during the short discussion with Ms. Triantafyllou of KYADA, the linkages of poverty to the selected social disorder phenomena were made clear. The desktop research and the answers in the questionnaires by the Hellenic Police Force and KYADA of the Municipality of Athens gave clear indications on the existence of areas with social disorder phenomena located in the city center of Athens during the economic crisis period of 2011-2018. The empirical data collected by the

74 field observations on 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2018 strongly confirm the existence of such areas during the selected time frame. The field observations gave a clear answer regarding the existence of certain phenomena of social disorder directly related to poverty, including phenomena such as panhandling, the use of drugs in public spaces and the phenomenon of homelessness that present linkages with the previous two.

There are numerous areas around the city center of Athens that seem to experience a high concentration of those phenomena. Based on the outcomes of desktop research, questionnaires, discussions and given the field observations, the areas that seem to suffer the most nowadays are the following (in random order): Pedion (tou) Areos, Massalias Street, Menandrou Street and some of the surrounding streets and squares (with Theatrou Square being the most prominent one) and Tositsa Street. There are indications based mostly on desktop research and media reports that Victoria Square and Sina Street (according to the Hellenic Police Force) are also experiencing some of those phenomena, however this was not empirically confirmed during the field observations.

As the questionnaires made clear and the field observations confirmed, those areas are characterized by a high concentration of graffiti, a considerable concentration of litter, and around those areas one can notice a considerable number of abandoned or neglected buildings. Those places are all public spaces, mostly parks (Pedion tou Areos) and squares (Theatrou Square) however in the case of panhandling, the beggars are operating mostly in overcrowded places, preferring rush hours in particular. The Metro Lines and particularly Line – 1 of the Athens Metro is the most prominent example as the follow-up field research confirmed, while some beggars have been also noted in the entrance of buildings (Museum) or supermarkets that have a constant amount of traffic.

5.2 Conclusion

Now that the results have been analyzed and discussed this thesis has reached its conclusion. The main research question will be answered and the limitations of this study alongside with suggestions for future research will be presented. The thesis will close with some recommendations based on the outcomes of this research.

Main research question: To what extent can the social disorganization theory of Chicago School explain poverty-related social disorder phenomena in the public spaces of the city center of Athens during the economic crisis period (2011-2018)?

Based on the outcomes of the research, it can be supported that the social disorganization theory can explain, at least to a certain extent, poverty-related phenomena of social disorder in the public spaces of the center of Athens during the economic crisis. The main phenomena of social disorder that are related to poverty and were investigated, homelessness, panhandling and the use of drugs in public spaces, seem to be explained with the interpretational tools and concepts provided by the theory proposed by Shaw & McKay. The concept of poverty which is the foundation of this theory, totally relates to the case of Athens, while the city is still suffering the consequences of the economic crisis, while high (ethnic) heterogeneity and signs of physical dilapidation characterize numerous areas around the city center of the capital. In this context, all the main conditions that the theory presents as the foundations of social disorganized areas are met in this case study, while the vast majority of the rest of the concepts of this theory is also partly confirmed during the selected time period (2011-2018).

It can be concluded that a perceived lack of community controls indeed characterizes some of the areas and the people that may have deviant or delinquent behavior in those areas. According to practitioners with hands-on experience on the topic, the lack of community controls is the main reason why that population prefer the city thanks to the anonymity that the latter offers. Moreover, the preference of the homeless and especially the users of drugs towards abandoned or neglected places is another, ecological characteristic that could be indicative of the perception of those people and the citizens regarding the loose controls on those areas. All of the areas investigated during the field research had a high concentration of indicators of physical dilapidation (graffiti, litter, abandoned buildings, use of drugs in public space). Only the population of panhandlers seems to be differentiated from that pattern as they mostly prefer crowded places to exercise begging. Therefore, there are strong indications that this main assumption fits indeed in the case of Athens.

Finally, regarding the assumptions that those areas are indicative of an inability of different segments of a community to work together towards a common goal and that

76 socially disorganized areas might develop criminal values and traditions that can replace conventional ones, those are difficult to be answered due to their abstract and subjective nature. There seems to be an inability of the different segments of the community to work together as a natural consequence of the great heterogeneity and increased residential mobility that seems to characterize the population of the city center while the culmination of criminal values is a logical assumption that can describe these areas as well given the heterogeneity, poverty and dilapidation that contribute to a lack of controls by the communities. However, those two assumptions cannot be confirmed in a clear and absolute manner in this case study.

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for future research

In spite of the fact that the research has met its goals, there are certain limitations that characterize its outcomes. As a part of social sciences, criminological theories are characterized by a certain interpretational and explanatory power, subject to a large extent on not entirely objective or on abstract criteria. The social disorganization theory is no exception to this rule, as some of its concepts such as the concept of residential mobility, or some of its assumptions such as the inability of different segments of a community to work together towards a common goal, seem too vague to be effectively measured. Therefore, while the core concepts of this theory were effectively measured and confirmed in the case study of Athens, the social disorganization theory, as perhaps every criminological theory, has a certain explanatory power in the case of Athens.

Regarding the nature of social disorders, it is also abstract to what extent some phenomena can be defined as such, given that they are mostly subject to the individual’s perception about the sense of (in)security. The fact that social disorder relates mostly to the fear of crime and insecurity, makes the study of these phenomena difficult to be conducted due to subsequent difficulties in categorizing social disorders and thus measuring them on the field. The categorization of social disorder phenomena related to poverty seems to be an effective and easy to understand categorization, that can be empirically (partly) confirmed, however, not all panhandlers are exercising begging due to poverty reasons given that some of the panhandlers are exploited by organized crime networks as desktop research and police reports showed.

Even though that the main concepts of the social disorganization theory are met in this research, a follow-up research of supplementary nature should be conducted in order to further elaborate on the causal relationship of some of the assumptions of this theory and the concepts that were analyzed in this research. However, given the ambiguity of some of those theoretical assumptions, it is unlikely that those concepts can be effectively turned to measurable indicators, especially in the case study of Athens, where phenomena such as undocumented immigration makes the research on those topics difficult to be conducted. Finally, more empirical research of qualitative nature based mostly on field observations with the use of open-ended questionnaires to the residents of the rest of the city “zones” following the paradigm of previous researches (2011, 2013, 2016) should be conducted in order to have more empirical data on the level of the metropolis and to empirically test in an effective way the concentric zones model proposed by Burgess.

5.4 Recommendations

Based on the outcomes of this research some brief policy recommendations will be made in regard with the phenomena that were analyzed in this paper and taking into account the research outcomes of this thesis.

Given the main assumption of the theory that heterogeneity, dilapidation and poverty contribute to social disorganization and a lack of community controls, it is important to counter the perception of the citizens that some areas are abandoned or neglected. Therefore, some measures that follow the Community Oriented Policing (COP) model could be implemented in the city center of Athens by the Hellenic Police Force. In particular, the Neighborhood Police Officer program that is currently taking place in several areas in Greece and in Athens with positive results so far ("Έτοιμοι οι αστυνομικοί της γειτονιάς - Ποια είναι τα καθήκοντά τους", 2017), should be extended and implemented also in the city center of Athens and especially in the areas that suffer from those phenomena in order for the Hellenic Police Force to construct bonds with the heterogenous population living in those areas. One suggestion could be the introduction of police officers capable of speaking to the language of the minorities (i.e. Arabic, Urdu or eastern-European languages) that are located in certain areas of the city

78 center, or even police officers with similar ethnic background as the people living in those areas. This measure could increase the social bonds between the law enforcement agency and the communities in certain areas of Athens.

In the same context, the Municipal Police of Athens, that until today has a limited role in patrolling and policing those areas could be used as a link between the citizens in the center and the Hellenic Police Force, by enhancing the cooperation between those police forces and taking initiatives at the level of the local communities, such as proclaiming job offers for Municipal Police Officers, translators, social workers, or other related vacancies and advertise them at areas with a high concentration of people of various ethnic or racial background, at the city center of the capital.

Moreover, given the certain physical characteristics that the social disorganized areas around the city center have in common, the idea of exploiting and using the numerous abandoned buildings located in the center might be an effective initiative that could be taken by the Municipality or the Region of Athens. In line with the urban regeneration plans in Athens for 2020, plans to exploit the abandoned buildings located in the center have been announced, but even though relevant plans have been announced in the recent past, it appears that no action was taken, mostly due to the lack of effective communication between the various administrative units in Athens. Therefore, the need for a comprehensive plan regarding the exploitation of the abandoned buildings on the city center is deemed necessary in order to counter phenomena of physical degradation on the public spaces of Athens and thus counter the foundations of social disorganization as proposed in the theory of Shaw & McKay.

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Katsounaki, M. (2016) Μια εκτροχιασμένη χώρα. Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ. Retrieved 18 February 2018 from http://www.kathimerini.gr/867149/opinion/epikairothta/politikh/mia-ektroxiasmenh- xwra

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Skogan, W. G. (2012). Disorder and crime. The Oxford handbook of crime prevention, 173-188. Retrieved from http://skogan.org/files/Disorder_and_Crime.in_Welsh_and_Farrington_2012.pdf

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Urdal, H., & Hoelscher, K. (2012). Explaining Urban Social Disorder and Violence: An Empirical Study of Event Data from Asian and Sub-Saharan African Cities. International Interactions, 38(4), 512-528. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03050629.2012.697427

Vlasi, A. (2013). Το φαινόμενο των αστέγων στην Αθήνα της κρίσης (Masters). School of Architecture | National Technical University of Athens.

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Zarafonitou Ch. & Chrysochoou E., (2015). Are there ghettos in the centre of Athens? Criminological research of social attitudes and representations. Editor: Zarafontiou Ch., Criminological Studies, vol. 1, MA of Criminology, Panteion University, Athens.

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Appendix A

List of full questionnaires and answers send to KYADA and the Hellenic Police Force

Ερωτηματολόγιο ΚΥΑΔΑ

1. Ποια είναι το προφίλ (οικογένεια, επίπεδο μόρφωσης, οικονομική κατάσταση, εθνότητα) του μέσου αστέγου στην Αθήνα;

2. Με ποιους τρόπους και σε τι βαθμό έχει επηρεάσει η οικονομική κρίση το ποσοστό αστέγων στο κέντρο της Αθήνας και σε τι βαθμό έχει επηρεαστεί ο αριθμός των Ελλήνων από την αρχή της κρίσης μέχρι σήμερα;

3. Σε ποιους (δημόσιους) χώρους συγκεντρώνεται ο μεγαλύτερος πληθυσμός αστέγων στο κέντρο της Αθήνας;

4. Με τι κριτήρια φαίνεται να επιλέγει ο άστεγος πληθυσμός αυτούς τους χώρους και ποια τα χαρακτηριστικά των συγκεκριμένων χώρων;

5. Σε τι βαθμό και με ποιους τρόπους υφίσταται οποιαδήποτε σύνδεση μεταξύ της αστεγίας και φαινομένων όπως η επαιτεία ή η χρήση ναρκωτικών σε δημόσιους χώρους;

6. Με ποιους τρόπους προσπαθεί ο Δήμος Αθηναίων και το ΚΥΑΔΑ να ανακουφίσουν το πρόβλημα;

7. Πως θα χαρακτηρίζατε τη συνεργασία του ΚΥΑΔΑ με άλλους αρμόδιους φορείς (Περιφέρεια, λοιποί φορείς) στην πρόληψη και ανακούφιση του φαινομένου;

8. Γνωρίζει ο οργανισμός το πως αντιλαμβάνονται και αντιμετωπίζουν το ζήτημα της αστεγίας οι πολίτες που διαβιούν ή εργάζονται στην περιοχή του κέντρου της Αθήνας;

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΕΙΣ 8.Οι άνθρωποι που κατοικούν στην Αθήνα δείχνουν να είναι ευαισθητοποιημένοι με το φαινόμενο της αστεγίας είτε προσφέροντας πράγματα στους άστεγους ή και καλώντας στον 1595 που είναι ο αριθμός παραπόνων για τους πολίτες για να πάει η υπηρεσία μας να τους ενημερώσει σχετικά με δομές που εξυπηρετούνται άστεγοι. Υπάρχουν και εκείνες οι φορές που δυσανασχετούν όταν ο άστεγος καταλύει στην είσοδο της πόρτας τους. 7. Σχετικά με την πρόληψη δεν υπάρχει αυτή η αρμοδιότητα γιατί ουσιαστικά είναι πολιτικές κρατικές για να μην φτάσει κάποιος στο δρόμο. Συνεργασία υπάρχει με τους εμπλεκόμενους φορείς για να μπορέσουμε να βοηθήσουμε τους άστεγους ανάλογα με την κατηγορία που εντάσσεται. Σε περιόδους κακοκαιρίας όλοι οι φορείς προσφέρουν τις υπηρεσίες τους για να προστατέψει τους άστεγους από καιρικά φαινόμενα. 6. Το ΚΥΑΔΑ έχει δύο ξενώνες που απευθύνεται σε άστεγους που δεν αντιμετωπίζουν σοβαρά ψυχιατρικά προβλήματα και δεν είναι χρήστες. Επιπλέων δεν απευθύνεται σε οικογένειες. Για τις οικογένειες υπάρχουν οι κοινωνικές κατοικίες πρόγραμμα του Δήμου Αθηναίων. Καθημερινά βγαίνει στους δρόμους η ομάδα του street work εντοπίζοντας τους ανθρώπους που διαβιούν στο δρόμο ενημερώνοντας τους για το που θα σιτιστούν , θα κάνουν το μπάνιο του και γενικά υπηρεσίες που μπορούν να τους παρασχεθούν. 5. Αρκετά είναι τα άτομα εκείνα που ενώ έχουν να διαμείνουν σε σπίτι κάθονται στους δρόμους προφασίζοντας ότι είναι άστεγοι για να επαιτούν. Επιπλέον οι χρήστες επαιτούν για να μπορούν να αγοράζουν τη δόση τους. 4. Θέλουν να βρίσκονται σε χώρους που να προστατεύονται από τα καιρικά φαινόμενα και να είναι κοντά σε πιάτσες που μπορούν να εξυπηρετηθούν για τις ανάγκες τους. 3. Ομόνοια και γύρω από αυτή, πάρκο Θησείου. Λόφος Στρέφη. Πεδίον Άρεως, Μοναστηράκι 2. Αρκετοί είναι εκείνοι που δεν πήγαν καλά με την δουλειά τους και αναγκάστηκαν να εγκαταλείψουν τα σπίτια τους και να βρεθούν σε κάποι δομή αστέγων. Δεν υπάρχουν στοιχεία ακριβή για αυτό αλλά το βλέπουμε κατά την προέλευσή τους για να ζητήσουν στέγαση. 1. Περισσότεροι δεν έχουν ολοκληρώσει την υποχρεωτική εκπαίδευση, οικονομική τους κατάσταση άνεργοι άποροι χωρίς υποστηρικτικό περιβάλλον. Χρέη προς τα ασφαλιστικά ταμεία ενοίκια, τράπεζες.

Ερωτηματολόγιο για Ελληνική Αστυνομία

1. Ποια είναι η πορεία που ακολουθεί το σύνολο των δεικτών εγκληματικότητας στο κέντρο της Αθήνας κατά την περίοδο της οικονομικής κρίσης (2010- 2017) και ποια η αντίστοιχη πορεία που ακολουθούν τα αξιόποινα φαινόμενα της επαιτείας και της χρήσης ναρκωτικών σε δημόσιους χώρους;

Για τα έτη

ΕΣ

(γρ.)

(δισ.)

ΚΟΚΑΪΝΗ

ΥΓΡΗ (γρ.) ΥΓΡΗ

ΚΑΝΝΑΒΗ

ΠΕΡΙΟΔΟΣ

ΟΠΙΟ(γρ.)

ΜΙΝΗ(γρ.)

ΑΚΑΤ. (γρ.) ΑΚΑΤ.

ΥΠΟΘΕΣΕΙΣ

ΗΡΕΜΙΣΤΙΚΑ

ΜΕΘΑΔΟΝΗ

ΗΡΩΙΝΗ (γρ.) ΗΡΩΙΝΗ

ΜΕΘΑΜΦΕΤΑ ΣΥΛΛΗΦΘΕΝΤ 2010 610 611 373 295 2.899 11.280 1.155 0 0 2011 286 396 498 1 1.340 8.383 124 0 0 2012 586 602 726 68 822 14.912 1.070 0 0 2013 231 285 533 178 23.403 1.551 39 0 0 2014 63 74 2.273 302 2.736 602 947 0 0 2015 76 85 2.293 1 21 731 896 8 0 2016 48 71 15 287 18.415 426 0 0 0 2017 37 40 13 2 52.410 0 0 0 16

2. Υπάρχουν συγκεκριμένες περιοχές στο κέντρο της Αθήνας όπου φαίνεται να ευδοκιμούν τα συγκεκριμένα φαινόμενα, και αν ναι ποιες είναι αυτές οι περιοχές και ποια τα χαρακτηριστικά τους;

Οι χώροι πλησίον Πανεπιστημίων (Σίνα και Τοσίτσα) όπου η παρουσία της ΕΛ.ΑΣ λόγω ασύλου είναι δυσκολότερη. Πάρκα (π.χ. Πεδίον του Άρεως) η συντήρηση των οποίων είχε παραμεληθεί είτε υπήρχε συνάθροιση ατόμων καθόσον λάμβαναν χώρα παράλληλες υποβοηθητικές δράσεις για ευαίσθητες πληθυσμιακές ομάδες.

3. Ποια είναι η προσέγγιση που ακολουθεί η ΕΛΑΣ αναφορικά με την πιθανή ύπαρξη συγκεκριμένων «εστιών» παραβατικότητας (επαιτεία, χρήση ναρκωτικών) στο κέντρο της Αθήνας;

Η Υποδιεύθυνση Δίωξης Ναρκωτικών της Διεύθυνσης Ασφαλείας Αττικής, στο πλαίσιο προσέγγισης απειλών και σύμφωνα με τους τεθέντες στόχους και προτεραιότητες του Προγράμματος Αντεγκληματικής Πολιτικής της ΕΛ.ΑΣ, για την αντιμετώπιση του προβλήματος των Ναρκωτικών, καθώς και των ρητών εντολών πολιτικής και φυσικής ηγεσίας, αναπτύσει στοχευμένες δράσεις προκειμένου να αντιμετωπιστούν

οι μεγαλύτερες απειλές που αφορούν στην διακίνηση των ναρκωτικών τόσο στο επίπεδο της διεθνικής διακίνησης (εισαγωγή - μεταφορά - διαμετακόμιση), όσο και στο επίπεδο της μικρεμπορίας και της συνακόλουθης με αυτήν εκδηλουμένης μικροεγκληματικότητος.

Ενδεικτικά σας αναφέρεται ότι έτος 2017, η Υποδιεύθυνση Δίωξης Ναρκωτικών της Δ.Α.Α., ανέπτυξε δράσεις εξάρθρωσης οργανωμένων εγκληματικών κυκλωμάτων διακίνησης ναρκωτικών, επιτυγχάνοντας σημαντικά αποτελέσματα με την εξάρθρωση ή αποδόμηση (συλλήψεις μελών - πυρήνων) είκοσι δύο (22) εγκληματικών οργανώσεων.

Παράλληλα, εστίασε, διαθέτοντας σημαντικό μέρος της δυνάμεώς της στην ανάπτυξη προληπτικής δραστηριότητας σε ευπαθείς περιοχές (ευρύτερη περιοχή του Κέντρου Αθηνών και της Δυτικής Αττικής), με την διενέργεια ελέγχων και συλλήψεων στο επίπεδο της μικροδιακίνησης και της παρακολουθηματικής αυτής εγκληματικότητας, καθώς και την διενέργεια προσαγωγών υπόπτων ατόμων προς αποτροπή δημιουργίας εστιών συγχρωτισμού και σύχνασης («στέκια»), συμβάλλοντας στην εμπέδωση του αισθήματος ασφάλειας των πολιτών.

4. Με ποιον τρόπο αντιμετωπίζει η ΕΛΑΣ το αξιόποινο φαινόμενο της χρήσης ναρκωτικών σε δημόσιους χώρους στο κέντρο της Αθήνας;

Σημειώνεται ότι όσον αφορά στην χρήση ναρκωτικών ουσιών, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της ινδικής καννάβεως, τιμωρείται αναλόγως με ποινή φυλακίσεως, ανάγοντας την χρήση ναρκωτικών ουσιών σε πλημμεληματική παράβαση. (Άρθρο 29 του 4139/13).

Ως εκ τούτου σύμφωνα με των Κώδικα Ποινικής Δικονομίας (Άρθρο 37) κάθε ανακριτικός υπάλληλος οφείλει να ανακοινώσει χωρίς χρονοτριβή στον αρμόδιο εισαγγελέα οτιδήποτε πληροφορείται με κάθε τρόπο για αξιόποινη πράξη που διώκεται αυτεπαγγέλτως. Στα πλαίσια της επ’αυτοφώρου διαδικασίας (Άρθρο 242 Κ.Π.Δ), όταν διαπράττεται ένα αδίκημα ο παραβάτης συλλαμβάνεται και οδηγείται χωρίς αναβολής στον αρμόδιο εισαγγελέα. (Άρθρο 279 Π.Κ).

5. Με ποιους τρόπους αντιμετωπίζει η ΕΛΑΣ το φαινόμενο της επαιτείας εν καιρώ κρίσης δεδομένου ότι αποτελεί ποινικό αδίκημα (πταίσμα); - 6. Εκτιμάτε ότι ο αριθμός των προσαγωγών για επαιτεία είναι σχετικά μικρός σε σχέση με άλλες παραβατικές συμπεριφορές; - 7. Ποια είναι τα χαρακτηριστικά (εθνοτικά, ηλικιακά) του πληθυσμού των επαιτών και των χρηστών ναρκωτικών ουσιών που δραστηριοποιούνται στους δημόσιους χώρους της Αθήνας;

Σε μεγαλύτερο ποσοστών είναι Έλληνες, ενδεικτικά το έτος 2017 το 85% των ατόμων που κατηγορήθηκαν για κατοχή από την Υπηρεσίας μας ήταν ημεδαποί.

8. Ποια η σύνδεση των παραπάνω φαινομένων με το οργανωμένο έγκλημα;

Οργανωμένες ομάδες που διακινούν μικροποσότητες διασυνδέονται με μεγαλύτερες ομάδες οργανωμένης εγκληματικότητας που δραστηριοποιούνται στην εισαγωγή, μεταφορά και περεταίρω διακίνηση ναρκωτικών ουσιών στην Χώρα μας.

9. Πως αντιμετωπίζει η ΕΛΑΣ το φαινόμενο της αστεγίας δεδομένου ότι δεν αποτελεί ποινικό αδίκημα; Προκύπτουν διασυνδέσεις με άλλες παραβατικές συμπεριφορές όπως επαιτεία ή χρήση ναρκωτικών; - 10. Ποια η συνεργασία της ΕΛΑΣ με την τοπική αυτοδιοίκηση (Περιφέρειες, Δημοτική Αστυνομία,κ.α)και λοιπούς εμπλεκόμενους φορείς για την πρόληψη και αντιμετώπιση των προαναφερθέντων φαινομένων;

➢ Ημερίδες Ενημέρωσης με του Υπουργείο Υγείας (2018) σε Δήμους ➢ Συντονισμό δράσεων ΕΛ.ΑΣ με δράσεις Υπουργείου Υγείας. ➢ Παρουσία Στελεχών ΕΛ.ΑΣ σε σχολεία στα πλαίσια προγραμμάτων ενημέρωσης πρόληψης. ➢ Συνεργασίας με φορείς Υπ. Υγειας (ΟΚΑΝΑ) σε πιλοτικό πρόγραμμα ενναλακτικό της φυλάκισης για ανήλικους και νεαρούς παραβάτες. ➢ Μνημόνιο συνεργασίας ΕΛ.ΑΣ με Κέντρα Πρόληψης ➢ Επιμόρφωση στελεχών της Ελληνικής Αστυνομίας σε πρακτικές ήπιας αστυνόμευσης εξαρτημένων ατόμων από ψυχοτρόπες ουσίες από τον ΟΚΑΝΑ

Appendix B

Photographs taken during field research

Pedion Areos:

Photo of the abandoned café located in Mavromataion, outside of Pedion tou Areos

Photo of one of the entrances of Pedion (tou) Areos. Many litter can be seen inside the park

Photo of a garage outside Pedion Areos. Broken windows are a characteristic example of a neglected place where social controls are looser.

Photo of the package of a medicine against HIV dropped in Pedion (tou) Areos. Found close to loose syringes.

Photo of one of the loose syringes found in the Pedion (tou) Areos park

Victoria Square:

Photo of one of the entrances to Victoria Metro station (Green Line). The man with the hat is a homeless selling the magazine “Shedia” in order to support himself.

Photo of migrants sitting in Victoria Square

A seemingly homeless man walking the streets of Victoria Square

Tositsa street:

Photo of the side entrance of the National Technical School of Athens, with a very high concentration of graffiti giving the feeling of negligence

One of the side entrances to the School. Some people which were using drugs through drug injections are sitting on the stairs

A characteristic photo of physical dilapidation in a street close to Tositsa. Graffiti can be seen even on the parked van.

Omonoia area:

Entering Geraniou Street. One can witness full garbage cans and some graffiti while there are many abandoned or neglected buildings on the street

Menandrou Street, an heterogenous area close to Omonoia

Menandrou Street during the morning hours

Photo of Menandrou street. Some foreigners seem to argue on the road.

Massalias Street:

Photo of the entrance of the School of Economics and Political Sciences of National and Kapodistrian University

Photo of foreigners in Massalias park giving something to each other, that looks like money.

Photo of homeless person sleeping in the bench in Massalias street

Photo of people that look like homeless in Massalias park. Some litter can be seen on the park as well as graffiti on walls.

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