ATHENS STUDY AREA Introduction: Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece, it dominates the Attica periphery and is considered as one of the world's oldest cities with a recorded history span of around 3,400 years. It is central to economic, financial, industrial, political and cultural life in Greece. The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by a number of ancient monuments and works of art. The city also retains a vast variety of Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of remaining Ottoman monuments projecting the city's long history across the centuries 1. The selected case study area is located in the 1 st district, within the commercial triangle (Stadium / Omonoia / Plaka) and is defined by three main street axes: Peiraios, Athinas, Ermou. The northern part towards Omonoia square hosts many hotels, shops and offices, whilst large number of immigrant population is concentrated. The southern part mostly accommodates commercial and cultural highlights, such as restaurants and theatres with high tourist interest. The Athens City Hall is also located within this area as well as a Kerameikos archaeological site. Climatic information: Athens has typical Mediterranean climate, with dry summers and mild winters. Summers can be particularly hot and heatwaves are relatively common, occurring generally during the months of July and/or August. Average summer temperature is 27.7 o C and average winter temperature is 9.5 o C. General area Information: Population: ~3200 Overall size of the area (m 2 ): 469,589 Green public open spaces (m 2 ): 69,295 [incl. the conservation area of Kerameikos] Urban Blocks area excl. green public open spaces (m 2 ): 240,635 [approx. 20% is non built area] Omonia square 1 Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/athens 1 of 5
Historic Information: Number of listed buildings: 260 and 9 churches 2 Main use of the listed / protected buildings: public services, libraries, churches, art galleries, theatres Size of conservation area (m 2 ): 46,835 City Hall Ag. Anargiron Square Overview of Planning and Conservation Legislation The case study and surrounding area is officially characterised as archaeological site of Athens, counting more that 250 listed buildings. In the SW part is the archaeological site of Kerameikos which is on of the most important historic monuments, supervised by the Ministry of Culture. Listed buildings have been characterized either by the Ministry of Culture (MoC) or the Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Public Works 2 Ref: Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Public Works, Division of Urban Planning, Department of Traditional Settlements 2 2 of 5
(MoE). The greater part of the area is under special legislation code (ΦΕΚ 233 Δ / 9.4.1998) which defines land use and building construction restrictions and requirements. For interventions in the buildings, approval is required by the MoC, the MoE and the Architectural Committee, according to each case. For all building uses - except residential - audit procedure is followed by the MoC and the MoE (Historic Centre Department). For any works in open spaces, the Municipality of Athens and the MoE are main responsible, with permission required from the MoC. Additionally, MoC has the responsibility for any work to the surrounding open area of all the monuments. Building Information: Total floor space (m 2 ): N/A, will provide soon Average storeys: average 5-6 levels in the northern part, hosting mostly hotels, offices and residential and 2-3 levels in the southern part, hosting mostly shops, theatres and residencies Main building construction: Many of the most prominent buildings of the city are either Greco-Roman or neo-classical in style. Most of them share common walls with adjacent buildings and the main load-bearing structure consists of stone masonry walls and/or concrete framing with single timber-framed windows. Main uses: commercial, hotels, shops & restaurants, theatres, residencies 3 of 5
Energy Information: Main fuel used for space heating: electricity, gas, oil Main use for cooling: electricity Main use for hot water: electricity, solar collectors Renewable installations: Solar collectors in domestic scale for hot water Total floor area per use: N/A, will provide soon Energy demand per use (kwh): N/A, will provide soon Energy consumption per use (kwh): N/A, will provide soon Future plans and initiatives for the local community related to sustainability Municipality of Athens has multidisciplinary tasks and problems to address, as being the biggest and densely built city. However, the challenge towards sustainability is really high and various actions towards sustainability have been announced. These mostly focus on energy efficiency of public buildings (building shell and services), green roofs in public and private buildings, energy efficient street lighting and upgrade of urban open spaces. The improvement of public transport and the increase of pedestrian zones within the city centre, included to the Municipality targets as an aim to reduce private car use and subsequently traffic and air pollution within the city. In parallel to sustainability purposes, social, economic and security priorities are also set in such areas with high tourism attraction and immigrant population. Regarding fuel supply within the area, districts of Athens centre are already included in the central s government project for natural gas provision. By 2011 it is expected that most (if not all) of the area will be connected to this central gas providing system. Infrastructure is almost completed and buildings will shift from oil to natural gas use. Moreover, specific plans for more PV and solar use of energy are now imminent. Oil and other fuel will no longer be the main means of heating and cooling making environmental improvement more effectible. 4 of 5
Social information: Main ownership: owner occupied and private rented mostly by leasing Average age of inhabitants: ~45 yrs Size of households: ~3 persons per Social benefits and financial support for the area: Not currently Transport Information: Accessibility: by metro & buses as well as walking, not suitable for cycling Transportation fuel type: electricity for tram and natural gas for buses Pedestrian zones: limited zones within the case study area and in its perimeter (shown in the map below) Parking zones: more than 9 parking spots scattered in the area (mostly in southern part) to facilitate access to theatres, shops and restaurants Tourism: Highlights & Museums: Athens Art Gallery, Islamic Art Museum, Agii Anargiri Church, Agii Asomatoi Church, Apothiki Theatre, Ivi Theatre, Empros Theatre, Dipilo Theatre, Athens City Hall Estimated visitors yearly: ~15m total in Greece [Global Cities research] Accommodation: It has more than 20 hotels, mostly located close to Omonia square SECHURBA Contact: Maria Kikira Centre for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES) Department of Buildings e-mail: mkiki@cres.gr http://www.cres.gr/ Christoforos Kotsoros City of Athens Development Agency (AEDA S.A.) e-mail: aeda@ath.forthnet.gr http://www.aeda.gr/ 5 of 5