What are the effects and possible consequences of a new development ίη the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Athens? Playing host to the athletes of a mega-event Table of contence 1. Introduction 2. Objectives 2.3 2.4 3. Analysis 3.1 3.2 1.1 1.2 1.3 Structure of the paper General statement Introducing to where the paper wants to go 2.1 2.2 METROPOLITAN AREA - OFFICIAL OBJECTIVES ATHENS2004 2.2.1 Pre-Olympic Objectives 2.2.2 Post-Olympic Objectives MUNICIPALITY OF ACHARNES CONCLUSION Α critical reading of the Municipality of Acharnai Analyses of the impact of the Olympic Village from and toward major projects 3.2.1 The metropolitan area 3.2.2 The Municipality of Acharnai 3.2.3 The different relations concerning the Olympic Village 4. Post-Olympic Scenario's 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Things to take into account from the analyses Themes to work on Assumptions to make Scenario's to develop Conclusion s. Final conclusion 5.1 5.2 5.3 Appendices References a b c Importance of a new development in the outskirts of the metropolitan area 1 1. INTRODUCTION In this report we are trying to analyse some of the impacts a major event, such as the Olympic Games, can have on new developments on the outskirts of a metropolis. Ιn this case the metropolis in question is Athens. We have mainly focused our work on the municipality of Acharnai where the Olympic Village has been built. In the first section, we will give a general overview and present the characteristics of the locations, looking first at Athens, the host city. Then we will introduce the area of Menidi and at lastly, the Olympic Village. Ιn the second part we will look at the objectives for the Olympic Games through the eyes of Athens 2004 Organizing Committee and the municipality of Acharnai. Having presented the facts, we will be able, in the third part, to analyse the correlations existing between the different factors we considered important to look at and that play an important role iπ the study area, in terms of socio economic and environmental impacts. This analysis will allow us to establish three post Olympic scenarios according to certain assumptions that need to be acknowledged. The conclusion of this work is not supposed to give an answer to the complex situation that Acharnai has to face but simply presents, on the same level, the strengths and weaknesses of this municipality and the actions we regard as necessary to undertake in order to reach a certain balance inside of the municipality. 1.2 GENERAL STATEMENT Since Antiquity, Athens is the symbol of the Olympic Games. In 1896, when the Olympic Games was re-established and modernized, Athens was selected to hold these games. Today, in 2004, the Olympics are going back to their birthplace and it is a big challenge for Greece to honour this event. 1.2.1 The Olympics are going back to their birthplace As the host country of the 2004 Olympic Games, Greece has invested a lot and expects substantial returns in the economical, financial, and social aspect as well as in the physical plan. This mega event has been a good opportunity for Greece to lead its capital city: Athens on the way to becoming an international city. According to the Review of Athens: Assessment and Recommendations (22 October 2003), Athens and its metropolitan region represent one third of the population of the country and provide about one third of the Greece's GDP. On the country scale, these observations are of major importance, however, οπ a macro economic point of view, Athens would need complete regeneration to be able to compete with other international cities such as Mexico, Montreal, or Moscow. Regarding to this emergency, the 2004 Olympic Games have been seen as the unique chance for the country to overcome the current situation in terms of transport infrastructure, public facilities, environmental issues and housing. At less than three months from the beginning of the Games; Athens is going through a dynamic process of re-structuring. One of the main investments that will have an effect in the long term may be the new transportation network. This one integrates, between others, the Kimis Highway that is the basic link between the Olympic Village (located in the municipality of Acharnai) and the Olympic Complex via the Olympic ring and, the Attica Road as a connection between Athens and Piraeus and, the new airport in Spata. 1.2.2 The municipality of Acharnai Amongst the several Olympic facilities being constructed exclusively for the games (such as stadium, swimming pool...), we will focus our work on the Olympic Village (OV), which has been built in the municipality of Acharnai. According to the economic theory of space, the identity of a place, such as Acharnai, can be defined by geographical, demographical and economic variables. Bearing this in mind, we will observe that Acharnai presents several characteristics that are important to consider when analysing the "Post Olympic era". _a) Geographical variables Acharnai is the biggest municipality in the whole Attica. Its total size is 150,000 acres from which 40,000 of these are built-up. It is located in the northern part of the metropolitan area of Athens, at the foot of the Mount Parnes The mountain bordering Acharnai is a national park protected by the European Union. (cf: appendice no1 ρ.: Basic transportation Infrastructure, 1991; this map give us a genera/ view of the location of Acharnai related to Athens and the αν related to Acharnai) _b) Demographical variables: Between 1961 and 1991, the population of this region has increased a/though at a decreasing rate. However, with a growth rate reaching 70.1 % during the decade 1961 - 1971, compared to the rest of the Attica (25.5 %) and the whole country (4.5 %), it is easy to notice the economic potential of Acharnai according to certain assumptions. Also, the community of Acharnai remains one of the most dynamic populations with 61,350 inhabitants in 1991 and 79,000 in 2001 according to the national census. Today, the legal population reaches 120,000. The population of Acharnai is highly segmented in terms of the social class, which the people belong to. At the foot of the mount Parnes, live a small proportion of very wealthy people; this area is called Thrakomakedones. (cf: appendice no 2 ρ. Socio-professional typology of housing area, 1991). In the major part of the municipality, middle class people are living. Neighbouring these, we can find seven major "camps" where people, victims of the 1999 earthquake are still living in containers. These people are very poor and continue to live in these "ghettos" where, according to them, their standard of living has been increased. These three c/asses of people we have mentioned are the 120,000 legal inhabitants of the municipality. Next to them, mainly gathered in two zones (on the western side of the αν and on the south-western part of the municipality), we can find a high concentration of gypsies. These are part of the 40,000 estimated people living illegally inside of the municipality. The area is victim of a fragmentation that prevents the different class of population from a social integration process. In order to solve this problem, the municipality should undertake a complete regeneration of the area starting by controlling this illegal growth. This is not an easy topic knowing that the population always tends to create enclaves according to their class. The main obstacle to this is the lack of financial ability, as we will see later. _c) Economic variables: It faces an important problem of unemployment (cf: appendice no3 ρ. : Unemployment level of economic active population). Due to the national situation of the labour market, the number of unemployed people is constantly growing. Add to that a substantial immigration flow of refugees from the former Soviet Union, Southern Albania or from Eastern and Middle East countries that exacerbate the crisis. Most seriously affected are women (cf: appendice no4 ρ. : proportion of women - men economic active population 1991). The municipality constitutes one of the major poles of industry and manufacturing for Attica). Although, the existing installations remain small and very poor from a technological point of view. Once more, we have noticed the high potential of this area interms of labour force. Αll these criteria, taken together, act as an obstacle to the development of the municipality. Τhe problems that the municipality has to face are major; they are linked to the lack of decision-making power, the lack of financial means, the cohabitation of totally opposite classes of people with different needs and finally, the lack of land to offer to potential investors. Taking all these observations into account, it is important not to forget the correlation that can exist between two or more factors. For example, even if the municipality were able to offer land to attract investors, would the investors be tempted to move into such a fragmented area? . Τhis fragmentation problem is a real one, because for any development project that the municipality would like to undertake, all the classes of population concerned must agree to prevent conflict. As we will see in the second part, the authorities expect a lot from the impacts that the Olympic village will have on Acharnai. Having said that, after describing the Olympic Village, we will demonstrate that this p\ace is not the main zone to look at when ta\king about the future economic expansion of Attica through Acharnai.