PLPR 9th Annual Conference
Volos, 25-27/2/2015
Leisure Law’s Lost
(paraphrasing Shakespeare):
The case of leisure planning
in Athens, Greece
ALEX DEFFNER
Department of Planning & Regional Development,
University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece
CONTENTS
I.
INTRODUCTION
3
I. URBAN LEISURE PLANNING
5
II. ATHENS
6
III. CASE STUDIES
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IV. CONCLUSIONS &
PROPOSALS
18-20
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I. INTRODUCTION
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1/2
This is a work in progress – a subject with very limited
bibliography
The argument that legislation both restricts (imposes
constraints) and supports (encourages plurality) urban
planning is also valid in the case of leisure planning
Emphasis on opportunities rather than threats (in terms of
SWOT analysis) contrary to the usual EC tendency – the
Council of Europe has been more active in leisure policies
Re-evaluation of the four main functions of urban planning,
according to the Charter of Athens, i.e.
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housing,
work,
transportation, and
leisure
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INTRODUCTION
2/2
leisure has been the most neglected function both in
theory (textbooks) and in public sector policy – possibly
the field with the majority of private investments in
Europe
the question is where the emphasis lies, and the answer
depends on the particular national and/or local context
In Greece there is no specific leisure planning
legislation and this issue is penetrating the planning
legislation on the whole. Urban legislation obstacles are
correlated with urban planning tools (focusing on the
‘Local Spatial Plan’ - article 7 law 4269/2014 on
Regional & Urban Planning)
Two case studies are examined:
 new leisure spaces such as soccer grounds & malls
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 urban regeneration
ΙI. URBAN LEISURE PLANNING
1/1
 Main

types of leisure planning:
 cultural (relatively elaborated),
 tourism (most elaborated),
 sport (less elaborated),
 entertainment (neglected)
The qualitative importance of leisure brings
forth the weight of the issue of time which is
the lost dimension of planning: we must
‘rethink time before it is too late for space’
5
III. ATHENS

In Greece the situation concerning planning values
has two main aspects:
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1/2
the belated start in geography teaching in higher
education has affected planning education and the
formulation of values
Greece can take advantage of the worldwide experience
(including the mistakes) and produce better results in
analysis as well as policy
leisure in Greece has been ‘added on’. Currently
there is an increased focus on the leisure sector,
but not as a result of planning, but in reference to:
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the economy
globalisation
the media
politics
everyday life
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ATHENS
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leisure planning involves also the close cooperation between
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the public,
the private,
the third (informal, voluntary) sector, and
the fourth sector (local government)
something which in Greece is not case
 In recent years the private sector has undertaken a
leading role in the leisure sector, with both positive
and negative repercussions
 The most serious negative repercussion is the
non-planned transformation of neighbourhoods
with declining housing (and/or manufacturing)
functions to leisure areas with traffic and noise
pollution problems
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ΙV. CASE STUDIES
1/4

In the first case of new leisure spaces such as
soccer grounds and malls, the legislative framework
is generally unclear
 in Athens this creates the possibility for appeals
before construction:
 soccer ground of the AEK team in the northern
Municipality of Philadelphia which had been
demolished to allow for a new construction which
is currently trying to get planning permission –
the new Mayor was initially opposed to it (now his
position is not clear, he even talked about
offering an alternative ground to the team) while
the is not sure that the new Regional Authority
will contribute financially
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AEK new soccer ground
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CASE STUDIES
2/4
 New
soccer ground of the Panathinaikos team in
the deprived central area of Votanikos, which the
current Board of Directors of the Soccer S.A.
does not want to construct – instead it wants to
renovate the old ground which is in Ambelokipoi
in the central part of the city
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PAO
old ground
new ground
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CASE STUDIES
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3/4
There are also appeals after construction: Athens Mall
in the northern Olympic Municipality of Marousi which
faces possible demolition if it does not provide a belated
Environmental Impact Assessment study, since the
State Council declared in 2013 (after almost 10 years of
legal disputes) the law 3207/2003 (which allowed its
construction) as illegal
cineplex in the central area of Ambelokipoi whose
construction was stopped after it started
Athens is still playing a crucial role, especially after the
2004 Olympics that boosted its status, and any planning
initiative has to take account of this factor
Multiplex culture offers a type of connection between
the global and the individual by passing local and
national particularity? (Harbord)
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Athens Mall near the Olympic Stadium, November 2005, 185000m2, 160
shops, 25 restaurants & cafes (the first in Greece)
CASE STUDIES 4/4
 In
the second case of urban regeneration,
there had been a planned renewal of the
central neighbourhood of Plaka
 However, in the cases of other central
neighbourhoods, such as Psyri in the 1990s
and Gazi in the 00’s, as well as the adjacent
Pireos, the state has not yet managed to
establish the appropriate legislative
framework for a strict control in their land
uses
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Plaka
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Psyri & Gazi
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Peiraios street
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IV. CONCLUSIONS & PROPOSALS
1/3
 in
the case of leisure planning in Athens the
emphasis of legislation is neither on
restricting nor on supporting, since the law is
somehow ‘lost’
 the general situation resembles
Shakespeare’s play Love Labour’s Lost as
‘Leisure Law’s Lost’ (LLL)
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CONCLUSIONS & PROPOSALS 2/3
a
few improvements are suggested, in
relation to the proposed ‘Integrated Urban
Intervention Plan’ (IUIP) for the Centre of
Athens, in order that the phenomenon of LLL
is avoided
 Main characteristic of an IUIP: Combination of
planning, environmental and socio-economic
issues
 History of IUIP: legislated in 1999,
specifications formulated in 2012, context of
socio-economic crisis, proposal for ITI
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CONCLUSIONS & PROPOSALS 3/3
 Action
5 Enhance creative cultural activities
(and citizen groups)
 Action 11 Enhance the cultural identity of the
city and its value as a tourist destination /
Resume program of the Unification of
Archaeological Spaces of Athens (EAXA)
 Action 21 Measures related to time planning
in the city
 Action 22 Strengthen and increase initiatives
of public art
 Action 26 Promoting initiatives of sport
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