Public Space and Local Democracy in Contemporary Athens
Semaine de la démocratie – Quinzaine de l’urbanisme
Urban public space as an object of analysis and a subject of action is often posited to be a core symbol of the collective will. Greek cities, beset by acute current problems but also shaped by long term historical processes, are vibrant democratic spaces where citizens deliberate the consequences of economic, political, social and environmental crises. Greek public space has been revived as a lively Agora, where critique expresses itself with vehemence, tinged with bitterness but also often with a novel creative collective pathos.
Programme
At this public workshop, urban planners from leading architecture schools presented recent innovative projects in the Athenian city centre, focusing on the twin issues of public spaces and public participation.
- Local democracy and public participation – Prof. Shalini Randeria, Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, The Graduate Institute
- Reactivating Athens, 101 Ideas – Alfredo Brillembourg, ETH, Zurich
- Désapprendre d’Athènes – Marc Armengaud and Steven Melemis, ENSAPM, Paris
Moderator: Panos Mantziaras, Director, Fondation Braillard, Geneva.
The panel discussion was followed at 18.30 by a Keynote lecture from Georges Prevelakis.
Organised by the Graduate Institute’s Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy and Fondation Braillard Architectes in the context of the Quinzaine de l’urbanisme and of the Semaine de la démocratie promoted by the Canton of Geneva.
