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  #21  
Old Posted Jul 16, 2020, 7:26 PM
Omaharocks Omaharocks is offline
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I love Athens. No, it isn't traditionally beautiful, but if it was, it would likely be among the world's most expensive cities, considering the history, natural beauty, and climate.

Instead, it's fun, gritty, artsy. Sort of like a Berlin for southern Europe.
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  #22  
Old Posted Jul 16, 2020, 7:58 PM
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Originally Posted by The North One View Post
Some of you need to get a grip, the development in Athens is certainly bland and monotonous but it's not some kind of hideous horror. I don't see how it's any worse than say Rio's post-war development.
Who's been saying it's a hideous horror?
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  #23  
Old Posted Jul 17, 2020, 6:32 PM
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It's quite obvious there's height restrictions in Athens. Perhaps no building can rise higher than the Acropolis?
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  #24  
Old Posted Jul 17, 2020, 7:52 PM
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There are certainly uglier cities out there, but none of them have the prestige and name recognition of Athens. I've never seen a city more in need of a massive urban renewal project.
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  #25  
Old Posted Jul 17, 2020, 8:25 PM
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Originally Posted by badrunner View Post
There are certainly uglier cities out there, but none of them have the prestige and name recognition of Athens. I've never seen a city more in need of a massive urban renewal project.
Why does Athens need an urban renewal project? It has a modern metro, a new airport, good roads... What else does it need?

By European standards, it is a very young capital, which plays into why it is not as photogenic as other capitals. But who goes to Greece to visit Athens? I wouldn't recommend that anyone waste more than 3 days there because the islands are where everyone wants to be.
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  #26  
Old Posted Jul 17, 2020, 10:13 PM
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Originally Posted by iheartthed View Post
Why does Athens need an urban renewal project? It has a modern metro, a new airport, good roads... What else does it need?
90% of the city is comprised of identical buildings. They were put up quick and cheap. It's all designed to be replaced anyway, so yeah, it's an ideal candidate for urban renewal. The residents would welcome it.
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  #27  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 2:44 AM
Omaharocks Omaharocks is offline
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^ Did you read the article touting the build quality? I think you could make the argument that Athens has a higher standard for the built environment than anywhere in the U.S. It has more density than anywhere in North America, and as the article states, very little economic segregation. There are also plenty of excellent public spaces/squares/pedestrianized lanes all over. It works very well.

I think your qualm, which no one is denying, is that the architecture is utilitarian. It doesn't have the detail or design of other European capitals.

But so what? You really think it's necessary or possible for one of the poorest countries in Europe to tear itself down and rebuild to look like a Greek version of Rome or Madrid? And you seem to know that Athens residents would want such a change?
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  #28  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 3:49 PM
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The great thing about Athens' style of small-scale, individually owned buildings on small lots is that individual buildings are easy to replace one by one when they become obsolete. But no, the city most certainly does not need to displace its inhabitants for a top-down urban renewal plan (have we learned nothing from the mistakes of post-war planning?).

It could benefit from some streetscape improvements and general maintenance to the public realm though.
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  #29  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 5:29 PM
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Since most of this development happened during the automobile age. Theres a pretty decent walkway/road separation. Not the same experience in the other Euro big cities where the cars are often parked up against the building and narrow walkways. This leaves pedestrians weaving in and out of the street. Yes its charming to us from the new world, but not as functional.

The other thing I noticed was that Athens was much leafier than I expected. You cant tell from aerials of rooftops. Check google streetview. Most of the sidewalks are treelined forming canopies of about 1-2 stories in height for street level shade from the blazing sun.
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  #30  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 6:36 PM
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Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin View Post
The great thing about Athens' style of small-scale, individually owned buildings on small lots is that individual buildings are easy to replace one by one when they become obsolete. But no, the city most certainly does not need to displace its inhabitants for a top-down urban renewal plan (have we learned nothing from the mistakes of post-war planning?).

It could benefit from some streetscape improvements and general maintenance to the public realm though.
The problem with that approach is that nobody is going to voluntarily tear down their privately owned building to build a public square or park, so there's really not much of a "public realm" to begin with. That's why Athens doesn't really feel European at all. Instead what you get is a monotonous, third world like warren of mazes. It's only charming if you don't have to live in it.
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  #31  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 6:54 PM
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Originally Posted by samne View Post
Since most of this development happened during the automobile age. Theres a pretty decent walkway/road separation. Not the same experience in the other Euro big cities where the cars are often parked up against the building and narrow walkways. This leaves pedestrians weaving in and out of the street. Yes its charming to us from the new world, but not as functional.
Honestly I don't see big diference with other European cities about car parking and the walkway/road separation.
I would say, it maybe even worse than most other big european cities. Paris, London, Madrid, Berlin...

Sidewalks seem pretty narrow
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There sort of shopping arcade to create space for pedestrian.
Unfortunately those are often lacking of continuity to really create a pleasant environment
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  #32  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 7:10 PM
iheartthed iheartthed is offline
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Originally Posted by badrunner View Post
90% of the city is comprised of identical buildings. They were put up quick and cheap. It's all designed to be replaced anyway, so yeah, it's an ideal candidate for urban renewal. The residents would welcome it.
Those aren't throwaway buildings. They're pretty analogous to the ubiquitous 5th floor walkups in NYC.
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  #33  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 7:15 PM
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Originally Posted by iheartthed View Post
Those aren't throwaway buildings. They're pretty analogous to the ubiquitous 5th floor walkups in NYC.
Now just imagine if 90% of NYC was covered with identical 5th floor walkups. Ugly ones too.
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  #34  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 7:18 PM
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Originally Posted by badrunner View Post
Now just imagine if 90% of NYC was covered with identical 5th floor walkups. Ugly ones too.
Uh, it is. Ok, not 90%, but a huge chunk of it is, lol.
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  #35  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 7:30 PM
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Riiiiiight... Athens is practically a Mediterranean NYC. I was gonna say more like a Mediterranean Mogadishu but whatever.
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  #36  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 8:09 PM
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So long as it doesn’t have meaningless seas of asphalt with meaningless box stores as islands onto themselves that looks the same anywhere you see it, that’s all that matters for a developed city.
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  #37  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 8:50 PM
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Originally Posted by badrunner View Post
Now just imagine if 90% of NYC was covered with identical 5th floor walkups. Ugly ones too.
We could argue 95% of US urban areas is covered by poorly built suburban houses.

I see nothing wrong with those buildings. Large balconies, lots of green all over them, not to mention the pedestrian friendly nature of the city. Architecture is not about glass skyscrapers, but also of interiors, where people spend most of their lives.

Solid and tasteful apartment in Athens or a generic dry-wall house on US suburbia?
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  #38  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 9:03 PM
iheartthed iheartthed is offline
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Originally Posted by badrunner View Post
Riiiiiight... Athens is practically a Mediterranean NYC.
In a way... This is not far off the mark. Athens is the second most dense big city in Europe, behind Paris.

ETA: Athens is also denser than NYC. And it is still significantly more dense than NYC even if you exclude Staten Island.
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  #39  
Old Posted Jul 18, 2020, 9:14 PM
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There is nothing wrong about the buildings, they are not beautiful but you can find much worse in ugliness and they do the job quite well.

What Athens really need is a big clean up and more maintenance on infrastructures and facades.
It's true that a too clean city may be boring but there are a bit too much decays in Athens.
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  #40  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2021, 1:27 PM
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The people I know who are fortunate enough to roam around looking for that "je ne sais quoi" from the other thread are certainly clustering around Athens right now.
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