Citizen Participation and Self-Organization in Urban Regeneration in Greece
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Citizen Participation and Self-Organization in Urban Regeneration in Greece An analysis of the inclusion and implementation of participatory and self-organization practices in urban regeneration in Greece Christos Mitsios Master’s Thesis for the Spatial Planning (Planologie) programme Nijmegen School of Management Radboud University October 2018 Citizen Participation and Self-Organization in Urban Regeneration in Greece An analysis of the inclusion and implementation of participatory and self-organization practices in urban regeneration in Greece Name Christos Mitsios Student number s4792483 Study Master Spatial Planning (Planologie) Nijmegen School of Management Radboud University Date October 2018 Supervisor Dr. Ir. D.A.A. Samsura Second reader Dr L.J. Carton Contact [email protected] 2 Summary The central residential areas in the two biggest cities of Greece, Athens and Thessaloniki, provided housing solutions for the wave of urbanization that followed the Second World War. These central areas, designed with an old layout meant for small buildings, became very densely built-up and populated. In the following decades the desire for better living conditions and the accentuation of quality of life problems led to a steady abandonment of these areas by their residents leading to progressive dilapidation. The recent economic crisis and the long-term demographic changes in Greece have brought a dramatic reduction in new residential units and a refocus in the existing areas. Urban regeneration on a wide scale has not been part of the Greek urban planning tradition. The new environment of crisis has brought changes to the priorities of the society and the government. A focus on the urban environment and the emergence of an increasingly active civil society are leading to new paradigms of urban regeneration. This research thesis examines the concepts of participatory urban planning and citizen self- organization with a focus on urban regeneration. After defining these terms using international and Greek literature it determined the factors that are necessary for such practices to be successfully implemented. The qualitative analysis that follows was based on interviews and literature, academic or not, as well as policy documents, to determine to what degree the necessary elements exist in Greece. Participatory urban regeneration has seen a substantial scale of implementation internationally, but in Greece only small attempts have taken place. The analysis of the data collected shows that not all necessary elements can be found in the Greek environment, based on the existing evidence. At the same time however the concept is taking some momentum and there are indications that suggest it will become an important element of planning in the future. In the end of this thesis observations regarding the difficulties encountered during the research are presented, as well as suggestions for further research and practical recommendations. 3 Preface This research thesis represents the final step of a longer than expected period of doing a master’s in the Netherlands. Before coming to the Netherlands my background in Spatial Planning was completely Greek, and as the Greek planning tradition stems from the field of architecture, its character is quite different than what my studies in the Netherlands involved. This master’s thesis required from me to learn how to do design a research and analysis of qualitative data, something that Dutch students learn early on in their Bachelor’s, but for which I was not necessarily well prepared. The subject of the thesis came from the requirement to come up with a research proposal as part of the Advanced Research Methods course, which for me meant that a subject for Greece would make it easy to write. The issue of urban regeneration is one that I think is gaining and should gain a lot more attention in Greece. Citizen participation and self-organization in planning is a subject that is also gaining importance. I believe that the combination of these two aspects of planning will enter the spotlight of research and planning practice in Greece in the future. I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Ir. Ary Samsura for providing constant guidance during the long process of writing this thesis. I would also like to thank the people that gave some of their time to answer the questions in my interviews. Hopefully something useful has come out of this process that can inform future researchers or anyone else interested in reading this thesis. Christos Mitsios, Nijmegen, October 2018 4 Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1. Background .............................................................................................................................. 7 1.2. Problem Statement ................................................................................................................. 9 1.3. Research aim and questions .................................................................................................. 10 1.4. Scientific and societal relevance ........................................................................................... 12 2 Literature review ........................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Theoretical framework .......................................................................................................... 14 2.1.1 Defining participation and self-organization in governance ......................................... 14 2.1.2 Degrees of true participation and self-organization ..................................................... 18 2.1.3 Participation and self-organisation in urban planning .................................................. 22 2.1.4 Citizen participation in urban planning in Greece ......................................................... 25 2.1.5 Defining urban regeneration ......................................................................................... 27 2.1.6 Typologies of problematic areas in Greece ................................................................... 28 2.1.7 Urban regeneration practice in Greece ......................................................................... 31 2.1.8 Conclusions from the review ......................................................................................... 35 2.2 Operationalisation of theoretical concepts ........................................................................... 35 2.2.1 Factors of success in participatory processes in planning ............................................. 36 2.2.2 Defining variables for research...................................................................................... 42 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 47 3.1 Research strategy .................................................................................................................. 47 3.1.1 Necessary data .............................................................................................................. 47 3.1.2 Data collection and data presentation .......................................................................... 50 3.1.3 Data analysis .................................................................................................................. 58 3.2 Validity and reliability of the research .................................................................................. 58 4 Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 60 4.1 Analysis of the variables ........................................................................................................ 60 4.1.1 Variable: Overall administrative culture, political attitudes and legal framework ....... 60 4.1.2 Indicator: The existence of laws that allow or put immovable obstacles to the processes of participatory planning and self-organization ........................................................... 62 4.1.3 Variable: Communication among actors ....................................................................... 64 4.1.4 Variable: Existence of trust in the process .................................................................... 67 4.1.5 Variable: Adaptation of practices .................................................................................. 69 4.1.6 Variable: Social capital and willingness to work together ............................................. 72 5 4.1.7 Variable: Triggering event and clear focus .................................................................... 78 4.2 Discussion .............................................................................................................................. 82 4.2.1 Results ........................................................................................................................... 82 4.2.2 Reflection to theory ....................................................................................................... 85 5 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 87 5.1 Research questions...............................................................................................................