Athens City Branding Project 2020: THE FINAL IDEA
The big days
The completion of the cycle of courses in Cultural Marketing and Communication took place with a two-day Bootcamp, which due to Covid-19 was done remotely with the teams connected online and mentoring also done digitally by the lead professor Betty Tsakarestou.
So, on June 13th and 14th, 2020, our team gathered at the home of one of the three members and we started the preparations, the research and the creation of our business plan, based on the idea that we had with a focus center of course its city of Athens and the Athens City Branding Project 2020.
«VivAthens: Live, Enjoy, Create»
The idea of VivAthens aims to highlight the importance of Athens, as a city that offers a personalized experience to every person, a city that is sustainable for its residents, attractive to its tourists and creative for the businessmen who visit it.
“One experience: Sustainable for Citizens, Attractive for Tourists, Creative for Entrepreneurs”
Insights
The inspiration for the whole idea was the interview we had with the CEO of the Texnopolis of the Municipality of Athens, Kostis Bitzanis. In particular, through the discussion we had with him about the importance of Texnopolis and its cultural character, how it contributes to the promotion of the Athens’ brand and what is his view on strengthening the image of the city, he gave us important data that helped so that we can gradually structure the idea of VivAthens. An important insight given to us by Kostis is related to how Technopolis used the old gas factory and created a modern museum that tells the story of the past by combining it with modern experiences. Athens is a city with a rich cultural heritage, but we must not dwell on it. We need to connect the past with the present and the future of the city. So we see that it is very important to emphasize the use of spaces with some special cultural, historical, social or architectural background as happened with Texnopolis and the photo gas museum. Kostis also spoke about the importance of walks and stories in enhancing the visitor’s cultural experience, an element that can directly connect the past with the present and the future of the city.
Us as citizens of Athens
OUR ATHENS’ SWOT ANALYSIS
The Abandoned Buildings
So, starting from the insights that Kostis gave us, we continued with reflections related to the personal experience that our team has, as residents of the Municipality of Athens. What we have noticed is that Athene is a city full of ancient monuments but also full of old abandoned buildings. More than 1,614 abandoned buildings are located in the metropolitan center and which is full of such buildings which remain unexploited. Many of them are dangerous for residents and tourists as they can collapse at any time. They are also sources of infection and create an anti-aesthetic for foreign cultural brand and people’s experience both as citizens and visitors. So we thought that as the Municipality of Athens we could through collaborations with construction companies but also with the universities to utilize various spaces in the metropolis either as tourist or as cultural or as shopping centers.
VivAthens: The Idea
The idea of VivAthens, therefore, is based on the creation of a unified experience for the citizens — employees of the city, the tourists but also the business minds of the city. We believe that this could be achieved through the creation of various alternative walks and routes, which will combine the already wonderful archeological sites of our city with buildings that we believe that if we use them properly will highlight the past of the city enriched with its present. Athens has to be connected not only with its glory ancient past but also for its modern cultural life We have to revive its aesthetic perception through the reuse of these old buildings so residents and tourists have to feel safe. Entrepreneurship has to be also more activated and all these through the creation of special walks in and out of the metropolitan center.
Gains and Pains
So our goal is to create a city that will exude security for its citizens as these buildings, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, are also hotbeds of health threat, while at the same time we believe that this is how we will start business pillars in the city. So through interviews with various people who either live, do business or visit the city as tourists, we were “faced” with the problem that exists with these buildings and how this can be used to create a strong brand for Athens.
Through the interviews we received from 5 different personas we were told the following:
SOFIA, 40 Social Sciences Thission Resident «Forgotten Bombs»
“Thission is a place full of tourists and local tours; these people wonder around forgotten — building — bombs that anytime are possible to be knocked down and from which cables are being sticked out”.
NIKOS, 45 Merchandiser Thission Resident
«The abandonment of many buildings by their owners is intentional; the preserved building is difficult to be bought; its repair is costly; in case it collapses the owner more easily can take advantage of the plot instead of the building».
ANTONIS, 36 Hotel’ s Owner Athens Resident
«We have repeatedly called the Municipality for collapsing houses, tiled roofs and plaster from walls, but the answer we get is “we’ll see in a week” but they never see it».
ALESSANDRO, 28 Tourist
“ I want to see a different view of Athens. I want Athens to prove me that it’s not just Acropolis”
JOHN, 50 Member of Athens Trade Chamber Shopkeeper in Ermou Street
«In this frame, the Athens Trade Chamber finds news opportunities for new forms of trade activity and argues that empty and abandoned buildings in the city center can create new market neighborhoods if they become the core of activity for small and medium-sized enterprises retail businesses».
Taking into account the answers we received from the interviews, our goal is to offer the citizens, visitors and businessmen of Athens an upgraded experience where the exploration of new modern spaces of Athens, the intensification of entrepreneurial activities, accessibility to more green spaces will do. the city more sustainable for residents and more playful for tourists. It will also offer a New Aesthetic perception about a Modern Athens, New Job Openings and Less Gentrification (e.g. Airbnb).
Below you can see the Golden Circle What — How — Why, which summarizes the essence of our business idea:
In particular by doing a full analysis of the Smart City Business Model Plan:
Value Proposition
“A city sustainable for residents, attractive to visitors, creative for entrepreneurial minds” focusing on the meaning of “Experience” in the city of Athens that will be more sustainable, safe and resilient for residents if the abandoned buildings will be renovated, as well as attractive to visitors (more modern Athens with different stories) and creative for (entrepreneurial) minds.
Customer Segments
- Citizens of Athens (as residents, as employees, as co-creators)
- Tourists
- Visitors for business reasons
- Local Entrepreneurs Municipalities
Key Activities
- Renovation of buildings (renewed air of aesthetics and liveliness, examples)
- Athens mapping: ancient and modern places on walks
- Green Spaces
- Entrepreneurship development
- Residents: Part of the Public Space
Customer Relationships
- Expanding the Professional Horizon (through the creation of new jobs).
- Relationship of trust with the residents of the city (they will live in a clean and safe Athens).
- Creating an alternative experience for Tourists who come in contact with “others” historical sights of Athens.
- An “experiment” that will give life to the dilapidated buildings of the center of Athens, through their use for commercial use by small and medium-sized retail companies but also for cultural purposes highlighting the personal narrative of each building.
Key Partners
ORGANIZATION — TAXES:
- Greek Civil Engineers Association
- Association of abandoned Greece
- Athens Chamber of Commerce
- Association of owners of listed buildings and monuments
- RAE
UNIVERSITIES:
- Panteion University (cultural & social symbol)
- NTUA (architectural contribution)
- Agricultural University of Athens (environmental contribution)
NGOs:
- Sxedia (Invisible Routes)
OTHERS:
- Digital Athens Lab
- Local Entrepreneurs (Economy)
- Citizens
FUNDING:
- Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Home — Onassis Foundation, Hellenic Foundation, Hellenic World Construction companies
- European Programs (NSRF)
Key Resources
- Funding (Institutions, NSRF, Commercial Association, Region, Universities, Construction Companies, etc.).
- Volunteers
- Bureaucracy — Facilitation
Channels:
- This Is Athens, etc partners (websites, advertisements, Social Media).
- Press Offices — Municipality of Athens
- Campaigns (funded by the Ministry of Tourism + Civil).
- Electronic Tables showing the alternative route we suggest and all the necessary information someone need to know about it.
Cost Structure:
- Total budget is approximately 2.000.000€ (10% will be included in the budget of the Municipality and the rest of it will be covered by sponsorships (NSRF, Institutions, Construction Companies), campaigns or agreements with the banks for beneficial borrowing terms.
Revenue Streams:
- Tickets from the venues
- Short-Term — Long-Term Leases for Cultural or Commercial Purposes
What about Competition?
In competition’s level, Athens can follow the example of the municipalities of Barcelona and Rome. In relation to Rome, although it is directly competitive, as they have about the same population (4.3 million inhabitants in the metropolitan population), they both carry a great cultural heritage. At the same time, Barcelona is a city that combines culture with architecture, is inspired by how it invests in the future not only in the past (as we saw at the World Mobile Conference), has high tourism and thus becomes a pre-eminent tourist city, while it has direct access to public transport and public transport, with modern bicycle systems in Europe’s 2nd most densely populated city. It is a Mediterranean city with an intense nightlife, rich in local food, it is a metropolis located by the sea and access to the coastline is easy for everyone.
No more Gentrification
At the same time, the phenomenon of Touristic Gentrification due to Airbnb and the activities we want to implement in order to eliminate this problem concern the redefinition of the Center of Athens and its transformation into a center of international and sustainable metropolis are our goals. At the heart of the priorities is the return, as well as the creation of competitive economic activities and employment by utilizing the technologies that define the modern “smart city” as well as tackling its chronic problems.
More than 20% of Athens’ permanent population left from the city over the past two decades, as well as the slowdown in economic activity over the past eight years, has led to a growing abandonment of buildings and shops, further degrading social and economic life and the city’s image. The routes we suggest will help create a resilient city for both its residents and visitors, as well as for the people who are active in it. We suggest that abandoned buildings as part of the walks have to be restored, which will be a safety indicator for residents, visitors and professionals from the risks associated with public health (these buildings are hotbeds of pollution, garbage), crime (criminal data, drug addicts), abandonment of public space.
At the same time, these routes will contribute to the sustainability of the city’s historical memory, the vitality of neighborhoods, the activation of local markets, job creation, entrepreneurship and the development of relationships of trust with citizens who realize that the public space where they move has value. and it constitutes a reference point. At the same time, citizens would contribute as volunteer guides of their neighborhoods and of their city, since they are its ambassadors, but also as active participants in order to shape the physiognomy of the city.
Activities’ Plan
The activities we aim to promote as a whole start from the idea of renovation of the abandoned buildings as spaces for cultural venues, entrepreneurship, education etc. The renovated buildings will be part of a bigger narrative included in special walks in Athens both for tourists and citizens. They will be new insight — stories for entrepreneurial minds, businesses and activities. Inspired by NGO “Sxedia” and its “Invisible Routes”, both citizens and tourists will meet another side of Athens, unknown and untouchable. The universities will contribute to the environmental, cultural, and architectural planning of the city. Citizens will co-create being part of bigger city branding vision, by suggesting their owns walks.
So we suggest 6 prototypes walks that will be part of The Great Walk of Athens. People can be informed about the walks through the Municipality of Athens’ Official Website Special Website with information of the walks in detail, through the setting of smart iPads in internal cultural spaces and electronic boards in external cultural spaces as well as through the cooperation with other touristic & cultural stakeholders (e.g This is Athens).
1ST WALK (Duration: 1 hour & 5min)
- Acropolis: Parthenon
- Herodion Atticus
- Museum of Acropolis
- Plaka The abandoned House of Kostis Palamas: The abandoned House of Kostis Palamas, 5 Periandrou Street, has a great view overlooking the Pillars of Olympian Zeus. The location of the house is such that it allows the “narrative connection” between the house and the archeological site. So, we suggest that this house would be restored and become Center for Poetry and Contemporary Art. It will be a meeting place for poets, writers and artists. It is aimed at people of spirit, residents and cultural organizations.The renovation will be done by turning to a bioclimatic architecture, reducing the building’s energy consumption and its environmental footprint.
- Pillars of Olympian Zeus
- Zappeion
- National Park: The management of this public space, which is a landmark for the Municipality of Athens but also for the Metropolitan Municipality, as well as the old building stock of the city, brings to the fore its use as a recreation area, but also its transformation into a botanical park. Due to its special historical and environmental value (dense vegetation, foliage and shady places), it emerges as a key area for the implementation of the resilience’ s plan towards to the climate change. We suggest that residents and visitors of the city to should have a botanical experience through interactive free programs since according to the statistical data, in the National Park there are 6,500 trees and 15,000 plants and shrubs. The utilization of the National Park reduces the temperature of the city for a long time. At the same time we suggest the creation of a sustainable food market. Also the cooperation with the Athens Digital Lab will is essential for the development of digital innovation.
2ND WALK (Duration: 1 hour & 51 min)
- Museum of Acropolis
- Acropolis: Parthenon
- Herodion Atticus
- Herakleides Museum (Thiseio)
- Art and Food Market: The artists who exist on the pedestrian street of Apostolos Pavlou, find a home in a specially designed space that will respect the environment and will be created in the park on Apostolou Pavlou and Eptachalkou streets. Thus, the Park will be upgraded, which is now abandoned and a source of infection, while at the same time street artists will find a decent place to house their creations (jewelry, handicrafts, local products, etc.), they will be safe from the weather phenomena and will be a cultural hub for the region.
- Archaeological Site of Kerameikos
- Texnopolis
- Neoclassical complex of the Hatzikonsta Orphanage: Neoclassical complex of the Hatzikonsta Orphanage, at 68 Piraeus Street and Iera Odos, which has been in ruins for decades. Promoting it as a Megaron Issue concerning the child, the adolescent, their psychosocial needs . Thus, with this use of space, the resident, the child and the adolescent will find a reference point for his diverse needs while the freelancers (psychologists, social workers, psychotherapists, speech therapists, etc.) will get new job opportunities. The renovation will be done by turning to a bioclimatic architecture, reducing the building’s energy consumption and its environmental footprint.
- Melina Cultural Space
- Athens Observatory
- Philoppapos: We suggest climbing activities for children and adults, an information center on recycling, energy saving and energy technologies and a cable car with a route from the Observatory to Pnyx. At the same time, we recommend an Astronomical Observation Center.
3RD WALK (Duration: 34 min)
- Monastiraki
- Ancient Market
- Attalos Stoa
- Temple of Hephaestus
- Church of Holy Incorporeals
- Museum of Islamic Art
- Armenian Church
- Koumoundourou Square
- Municipal Nursery School: Promotion of the building of the Municipal Nursery School — Transformation into a theater with children’s performances, puppet shows, learning traditional dances and educational programs such as chess, robotics, comics.
- Art Gallery of the Municipality of Athens (Myllerou and Leonidou, Metaxourgeio)
- Avdi Square (food, drink,coffee)
4TH WALK (Duration: 57 min)
- Callimarmaro
- Presidential Palace
- Maximos Palace
- Greek Parliament
- Ermou Market Street
- Kapnikarea Church
- Monastiraki
- Church of Panagia Pantanassa: It is located on the borders of the “Old Town”of Plaka. It was a nunnery, of the 10th century and was located in the “Lower Bazaar
- Tzisdaraki Mosque
- Roman Market — Hadrian’s Library
- The abandoned house of Ioannis Kolletis:The abandoned house of Ioannis Kolletis,the first Prime Minister of Greece, 1834, 13 Polygnotou Street, built next to the Ancient Agora, on the ancient Propylaion Street. Its characteristic is the clay female figure that adorns the facade.It consists of a ground floor, a floor and a roof and in total it is 550 square meters as well as the garden that surrounds it. It is urrounded by planted orange trees, age-old palm trees and cypresses. Its current appearance is nothing like the past. In old paintings of Plaka, the house is depicted in bright colors. yellow walls, blue windows and was a jewel for the capital.
- Anafiotika
5TH WALK (Duration: 1 hour & 5 min)
- Omonoia
- Bagion:Transformation into cinema, fair trade stores, strengthening entrepreneurship, innovation, cooperative economy, new model of economic development aimed at sustainable development
- Varvakeios Market
- Theatre ’ s Square
- Euripides
- Klafthmonos Square
- Athens ’ University
- Currency Museum
- Museum of Ancient Greek Technology Costa Kotsana (Pindarou)
- Dexameni (Kolonaki Area)
- Lycabettus: Reopening of theatre
6TH WALK (Duration: 1 hour & 39 min)
- Syntagma
- Museum of Contemporary Art (Syggrou Fix)
- Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
- Marina ’ s Flisvos
Walking through the Vision
The routes we propose will help to create a resilient city both for its residents and for its visitors but also for the people who are active in it. We suggest that abandoned abandoned buildings be restored, which will be a safety indicator for residents, visitors and professionals from the risks associated with public health (these buildings are hotbeds of pollution, rubbish), crime (criminal data, drug addicts), abandonment of public space. At the same time, these routes will contribute to the sustainability of the city’s historical memory, the vitality of neighborhoods, the activation of local markets, job creation, entrepreneurship and the development of relationships of trust with citizens who realize that the public space where they move has value and is a reference point. At the same time, it will be important to use the citizens as volunteer guides of their neighborhood, their city, since they are its ambassadors, but also as active participants in shaping the physiognomy of the city.
Below you can see the Presentation, the Idea & the BMC of VivAthens, Athens City Branding Project, 2020, made in Canvas.
Links:
- City of Athens
- Καθημερινή: Γόρδιος Δεσμός η εγκατάλειψη κτηρίων
- Το Athens Digital Lab καινοτομεί με τον “έξυπνο” εθνικό κήπο της Αθήνας | ΑΘΗΝΑ 9,84
- Ευκαιρίες εμπορικής δραστηριότητας στα ερειπωμένα κτήρια της Αθήνας
- Το Πρόβλημα Των Κενών Και Εγκαταλελειμμένων Κτηρίων Στο Κέντρο Της Αθήνας | Dianeosis
- AthensVoice: Μοιάζουν να καταρρέουν 6 κτήρια στον πιο κεντρικό δρόμο της Αθήνας
- Πάνω απ΄ο 1400 εγκαταλελειμμένα κτήρια στην Αθήνα
- Roma Reppubilca: Capitale abbandonata tra palazzi cinema e vecchie fabbriche
- Σχεδία και Αόρατες Διαδρομές
- @abandoned greece
- Comune Roma
Copyright © Panteion University of Social & Political Studies MA Cultural Management, Media & Communication, Cultural Management Professor: Betty Tsakarestou.
Team: Xenia Ntavranoglou, Zinovia Sapouna, Areti Tatsi, 2020.
All rights reserved.
It is forbidden to copy, store and distribute this presentation in whole or in part for commercial purposes.
