Walking in Athens is turning into torture: The reasons behind the sidewalk crisis in Greek cities
핵심 요약
- Walking in Greek cities is like a giant obstacle course due to narrow roads, trees, cafe tables, and illegally parked vehicles.
- The root cause of the sidewalk problem in the country is the unplanned plot ratio construction system (antiparochi) implemented in the post-war period.
- Despite funds allocated for urban transformation in the last 30 years, practices have been inadequate and car-oriented transportation policies have not been changed.
- A city's true level of development and livability is measured not by its automobile capacity, but by the existence of areas where pedestrians can walk safely and comfortably.
One of Greece's biggest urban problems is not traffic congestion or a lack of green spaces, but rather sidewalks that are often non-existent or unusable. This situation, which the famous modernist architect Aldo Rossi noticed during his visit to Athens in the mid-1990s, continues today as an unsolved chronic problem.
At the root of the problem lies the plot ratio construction system (antiparochi), which was implemented to meet housing needs in the post-war period and is based on building density. This system caused cities to be shaped according to plot boundaries rather than holistic planning; sidewalks were seen merely as 'leftover' pieces of the roads. Roads were designed based on construction limits rather than people's daily life needs.
Even in the last thirty years, when the concept of sustainable mobility has developed and European funds have been provided, improvement efforts in Greek cities have remained superficial and piecemeal. While the use of automobiles has always been prioritized in urban areas, the creation of pedestrian-priority infrastructure has been consistently ignored.
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- Why are the areas allocated for pedestrians so inadequate in Greece?
- Because modern Greek cities grew unplanned with the post-war plot ratio construction system, and sidewalks were never considered an essential public infrastructure.
- Who is most affected by this situation?
- The elderly, children, disabled individuals, parents with strollers, and workers walking to use public transport are the groups that suffer the most from this inadequate infrastructure.
- Has there been any effort to solve this problem in recent years?
- Although European funds and sustainable mobility strategies exist, a radical solution to the problem has not been found because urban interventions generally remain piecemeal and privileges are given to automobiles.
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