Polis and Chora: Recalibrating Natural and Urban Harmony in Porto Rafti
Abstract
The landscape of Attica in Greece suffers rapidly progressing urban
sprawl in a culture of over privatization. In the absence of proper
legislation, corruption and poor implementation of existing laws, the
consequences of allowing unplanned settlements to emerge unhindered
in Athens and its periphery are now palpable and irreversible.
This thesis illustrates that the continuous fragmentation of the ground
plane into easily consumable land for private development does not
bring about social progress, as is advocated by its proponents. The
unregulated contemporary consumptive way of life essentially leads
directly to the collapse of civil society through the silencing of the
public voice in the propagation of settlements devoid of both natural
and urban public space. Consumption of natural resources at an
unsustainable rate pollutes and destroys the delicate ecological balance,
generating a situation of crisis which simply feeds the cycle
of urbanization.
This thesis presents a critical examination of the unique conditions
affecting the development of Athens and its periphery, and the resulting
ecological and social pressures in order to establish a case for
a socially and environmentally sustainable urban intensification and
the creation of vital public spaces. A paradigmatic vision is presented
for the rapidly developing ecologically sensitive coastal town of
Porto Rafti, based on restoring a harmonious coexistence of natural
and urban realms.
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Cite this version of the work
Christina Carydis
(2009).
Polis and Chora: Recalibrating Natural and Urban Harmony in Porto Rafti. UWSpace.
http://hdl.handle.net/10012/4401
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