Abstract / Description of output
Within the context of neoliberal governance, urban development prioritises capital security by emphasising the exchange value over the use value of urban space. This is evident in the management of urban heritage, where persistent top-down strategies have prioritised the ‘touristification’ of historic urban centres, causing the displacement of the local population to the peripheries of cities. In the light of the congestion of the historical centres due to overtourism, the development of the tourism activity is now expanding to otherwise neglected, peripheral neighbourhoods. The local communities of these districts oppose plans that respond to external economic pressures and movements have emerged that vindicate their rights to the city. This paper looks at the city of Athens, which is experiencing the ‘touristification’ of its historical centre, among other social, economic, and environmental crises. Particularly, it examines the low-income, post-industrial neighbourhood called ‘Plato’s Academy’ on the periphery of the historical centre. Currently, large-scale urban regeneration plans to display the area’s archaeological heritage as a tourist attraction are in conflict with the local community, which, through acts of self-organisation, protests them as impertinent to its needs. Although the local residents exhibit a holistic understanding of their existing heritage, the centralised, top-down approach of the administration tends to exclude them from any decision-making processes. This paper seeks to analyse this conflict, arising from exclusionary and speculative urban heritage management strategies and to highlight the opportunities of a framework based on the Right to the City concept that embraces creative conflict for a fair and inclusive heritage management in the peripheries of cities.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Cultural Heritage on the Urban Peripheries |
Subtitle of host publication | Towards New Research Paradigms |
Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
Pages | 187-206 |
Number of pages | 20 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781040307236 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781032762890 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 27 Jan 2025 |