Wind of Change Empowering a community to tackle

Abstract

Athens is exposed to high heat stress that has negative effects on its residents. This paper presents an approach to tackle the problem by empowering the community and strengthening local solidarity. The area examined in this paper has a particular attribute: the park “Pedion Areos”. It presents a large potential for residents to escape heat stress. Unlike most areas within an urban structure, the park is mainly unsealed, leaving the surface permeable to water which lowers the urban heat island effect. The park’s vegetation cools the area by evaporation and providing shade (KLEEREKOPER et al 2012). Due to the limited monetary possibilities regarding the change of grey urban infrastructure, the concept which is presented in this paper focuses on strengthening the opportunities provided by the park and other potential green areas as well as empowering the people to responsibly participate in the district’s development in order to create a healthy living environment for its residents. During the Summer School, on-site inspections of the designated study area were made. By doing that, the area was examined for the subjective feeling of heat, safety and social meetingpoints. Moreover, informal expert knowledge of the area was provided by Greek Architecture students. Detailed analyses of the constructed and social structure were made possible by Greek Census Data and the Athens Office of Resilience and Sustainability. In order to scientifically justify the aspired strategy, further literature research was done. A big part of this research served the purpose of answering one important key question: What constitutes resilience of a society or neighbourhood? Linked to the crucial role green infrastructure in cities plays in answering this question, the various benefits of urban green were identified. In addition to that, the role of urban planners in the process of making a community more resilient against external threats such as heat islands was debated. Eventually, the key findings presented in this paper were brought together in the depiction of an ideal participatory planning process. The implementation of the presented concept has the potential to improve the current vulnerability of the neighbourhood around the “Pedion Areos” to heat stress and to furthermore generate a greater sense of community and belonging.