Dimitra Kanellopoulou | Ensapm - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Dimitra Kanellopoulou

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Nov 23, 2022

From the very origins of the city, human scale forged physical environment and imaginaries about ... more From the very origins of the city, human scale forged physical environment and imaginaries about built urban form. From the sinuous streets of medieval towns ingeniously adapted to human walking, to Haussmannian boulevards in industrialized Europe, human movement and practices, structure the matrices of public space infrastructure. The question of human scale was however underlined-in a more conscious way-among urban studies and humanities mostly after the second world war in a context of international criticism towards Modern Movement's rigidity and remoteness from the scale of senses and perceptions of the individual. The quest to return to the city center and revisit values of walking in historical nuclei, marked a turn that will ultimately transform objectives and priorities in urban planning in the following years. Social sciences will nourish the debate by highlighting the imminent role of human walking and experience while studying the city. As a result, new methods of observation, mapping, analysis of daily practices within collective spaces have emerged and sow the ground for the development of new disciplinary approaches, focusing on emotions or atmospheres. The paper is structured as follows. In the first part, we retrace the evolution of the concept of 'human scale' within planning and design principles emerged after World War II. In a second part, we aim to examinedrawing on three case studies-the imminent role that walking has in actual debate on public space's adaptability towards future crisis and investigate its unique characteristic as an urban practice weaving together human body experience, physical space and social interaction. Through direct observations and in situ interviews in three public spaces in Milano, the paper proposes to re-approach 'human scale' not as prerequisite in design process but rather as a robust tool (both for planners and citizens) of negotiating plural forms of urbanity in a global context of transition

Ambiances

The underground is strongly linked to imaginaries woven by humans' actions towards the unexplored... more The underground is strongly linked to imaginaries woven by humans' actions towards the unexplored world below their feet. It has nourished myths and fictions about the afterlife, escapism and exile. In Plato's Republic, the allegory of the soldier Er, descending to the Inferno (Richardson, 1926) revives humanity's fears and beliefs about communication with the unknown and the challenge of limits. In Homer's Iliad, the dead also descend to a subterranean realm ruled by gods. In the Homeric Odyssey, the katábasis is described as a heroic journey to a supernatural world (Burgess, 2016). Although underground ways of life have been envisaged in literature, fiction, religion and folk tales, human settlements throughout history have reaffirmed practical ways of living on the Earth's surface through adaptation to each region's climate. Visions and imaginaries about the underworld have profoundly changed with the advent of industrial society, by mechanising, measuring and wishing to conquer every inch of the terra. The underground world was rationalised while it was accessed, tamed and forged by new aspirations about the expandable limits of humankind's territory. The troglodyte (from the Greek, meaning living in holes) houses and settlements dispersed around the globe remind us of human beings' ongoing efforts to protect their bodies from hostile weather, but also of the effort to deal with the scarcity of building materials and comfort of housing conditions. But what link could one make between Friedrich Engels's criticism of the unhealthy, wretched conditions of the working classes in industrial Manchester and Liverpool, the semi-underground apartments for migrant populations in Athens (Maloutas & Botton, 2021) or the abandoned bunkers providing refuge for the unwanted of society's global metropolises? The stratification of classes in human settlements is the result of finite, valuable (for its use) space and the constant quest for better living conditions "on an upper level" with sufficient air and light. This social stratification of the urban environment was celebrated by architects and planners of the 20 th century 1 who wished to structure the city vertically-such as Introduction to the special issue Underground Atmospheres Ambiances, 8 | 2022 Introduction to the special issue Underground Atmospheres Ambiances, 8 | 2022 Introduction to the special issue Underground Atmospheres Ambiances, 8 | 2022

EnglishSince the 1980s, extended pedestrianization works in Athens’ public spaces have been desig... more EnglishSince the 1980s, extended pedestrianization works in Athens’ public spaces have been designed to sharpen the tourist and cultural profile of the city, resulting in a lively return to walking as a leisure activity within the historic center. There are many associations of inhabitants, who were created especially after the 2000s, offering the rediscovery of the city through collective walks. Based on a field survey, interviews with local actors and the founders and participants of the Atenistas group, the article questions the emergence of a new form of urban walk that juggles between tourist practice and sociability and citizen’s action. Walking together and discussing the common experience of walking, confronts the inhabitants and participants with the Atenistas group’s walk-events, with various urban narratives hitherto unknown or marginalized. It is the objective of this article to question the conditions of creation and gradual emergence of a new form of urban practice tha...

Ambiances, 2017

At a time when several public spaces are facing radical transformation due to the removal of loca... more At a time when several public spaces are facing radical transformation due to the removal of local commerce, excessive tourist activity and costly pedestrianisation work, Athinas Walking and standing in Athinas Street: Encountering pedestrian life in Athen...

Confins, 2018

Peu de temps apres l’adoption d’Athenes en tant que capitale de la Grece moderne, la ratification... more Peu de temps apres l’adoption d’Athenes en tant que capitale de la Grece moderne, la ratification d’un plan officiel pour la ville est devenue la priorite principale du regime bavarois. Du premier plan effectue en 1834 aux etudes des transports publics des annees 1930, les plans d’urbanisme d’Athenes temoignent de son passage d’un village delabre de quelques milliers d’habitants a une metropole moderne d’un demi-million de population. Hormis la representation de l’urbanisation galopante, les plans d’Athenes refletent non seulement les visions de leurs createurs mais aussi celles de chaque epoque marquee par les discours de la communaute scientifique et des acteurs locaux. L’objectif de cette etude est d’explorer la production des differents types de plans urbains d’Athenes a travers trois grandes periodes historiques : les premieres annees de l’ascension de la capitale (1834-1870), l’ere de son industrialisation rapide (1870-1920) et celle d’apres-guerre, d’une urbanisation galopante et de la domination de la voiture individuelle. Les plans urbains du XIXe et de la premiere moitie du XXe siecle, temoignent des etapes successives d’evolution de la ville liee au developpement de la trame d’espaces publics et du reseau d’infrastructures. Leur etude et la comprehension des conditions dans lesquelles ils ont ete realises fournissent aux urbanistes et aux chercheurs en etudes urbaines des outils necessaires pour saisir davantage et analyser le developpement urbain de la capitale grecque au cours du XXe siecle.

La marche occupe de plus en plus le devant de la scene des politiques urbaines et des campagnes p... more La marche occupe de plus en plus le devant de la scene des politiques urbaines et des campagnes promotionnelles des villes. Ce n’est pas un hasard que cette pratique propre a l’etre humain soit devenue un terrain prometteur des recherches et d’innovation, et se trouve au cœur des enjeux relatifs aux espaces publics urbains. Un chainon indispensable du systeme des transports urbains, un exercice physique efficace, un moyen d’expression artistique reliant le corps aux manieres d’experimenter la ville, la marche est surtout le fondement de la vie sociale urbaine. Pendant plus d’un siecle, elle a prospere dans les rues sinueuses medievales, elle a ensuite ete mise en marge des grands axes de circulation menacee par la predominance de l’automobile, et elle a finalement connu un retour triomphant dans les annees 1970 dans les zones qui lui etaient particulierement reservees et les promenades soignees des centres-villes. Marcher semble avoir trouve la place qui lui correspond au sein de la...

The Senses and Society, 2017

Abstract This article examines walking as a spatial-temporal practice as well as a transformative... more Abstract This article examines walking as a spatial-temporal practice as well as a transformative practice within public space. The historical center of Athens has recently undergone a major transformation of its public spaces, produced mostly by major pedestrianization projects within the context of a reworking of the archaeological touristic profile of the capital. This article aims to explore the plural facets of experiencing the city while walking, which have been neglected by Greek planning authorities. Temporality, rhythmicity and presence make walking a meaningful practice that goes beyond the objective perception of the trail. Drawing on the narratives of six citizens while walking, this article seeks to develop a vocabulary capable of informing public space design. The author, who takes a geographical, ethnographic perspective, aims to contribute through developing fieldwork methods and deepening the debate on public space planning by revealing walking as a place-anchored experience.

Bulletin de l'Association de géographes français

Les espaces du tourisme et des loisirs : entre ordinaire et extraordinaire Redécouvrir Athènes. B... more Les espaces du tourisme et des loisirs : entre ordinaire et extraordinaire Redécouvrir Athènes. Balades urbaines et récits quotidiens du centre-ville Rediscovering Athens. Urban walks and daily narratives of the city center Dimitra Kanellopoulou Édition électronique

International Journal of Tourism Cities

Bulletin de l'Association de géographes français

Since the 1980s, planning public spaces for leisure walking is largely linked with economic and c... more Since the 1980s, planning public spaces for leisure walking is largely linked with economic and
cultural objectives. Parallel to this tendency and the priorities of local authorities on barker public space
projects, inhabitant’s associations, that grow up after the 2000s, propose new ways of visiting the city
through collective walks. Drawing on the example of the Atenistas group, and based on the discourses of its
founders, its presence on social media and the narratives of participants, the purpose of this paper is to
question the emergence and function of new forms of urban walking that joggle between tourism, social
exchange and act of citizenship.
The case study is based on personal semi-directive interviews with
organisers and participants at “Atenistas Open Walks”. It is also based on interviews that have been held with
architects and urban planners within technical services of the municipality of Athens as also as within private
sector’s structures.
First insights from the study question pedestrianisation as a dominant urban planning tool towards
animated street life and performant local economy. Contrary to the traditional top-down approach in Athens’s
public space planning which uses pedestrianisation or land management to re-invest on the city centre,
Atenistas OpenWalks reveal the existence of alternatives ways of a re-engagement with city values and history.
People search to explore the city by themselves and re-trace their proper itineraries (andways of seeing the city)
by outpassing official discourses on the decline, the success, the dangerousness or the beautifulness of certain
neighbourhoods. Consequently, walkers constantly nourish their will to better understand the city. Public space
experience outpasses morphological or functional issues. The act of walking with others in the city willing to
explore places and to exchange on this experience, confront people with different narratives and trajectories
and can momently be a strong factor of social cohesion and activation of public space with significant impacts
on local economy. Walking collectively can emerge, in this way, as a counter model of public space planning
capable of revitalise not only touristic activity, but also citizenship.
The study questions dominant discourses that link urban liveability and touristic
attractiveness of urban centres with recreational events and streets’ pedestrianisation projects.

Shortly after the adoption of Athens as the capital of modern Greece, the ratification of an offi... more Shortly after the adoption of Athens as the capital of modern Greece, the ratification of an
official plan for the city became the main priority of the Bavarian regime. From the first city plan
approved in 1834 to the several maps, studies of cadastral plans presented at the beginning of the
20th century and until the 1960s, these representations of Athens reveal its passage from a
dilapidated village of a few thousand inhabitants to a modern metropolis of half a million
inhabitants. Apart from representing a galloping urbanization, the plans of Athens reflect not
only ideas, aspirations of their creators but also the discourses and imaginaries of each era, that
have been forged by the scientific community, local actors and civic society. The objective of this
study is to trace the production of several plans having as subject the city of Athens, within three
historical periods: the first years of the ascent of the capital (1834-1870), the era of its rapid
industrialization (1870-1920) and a period after World War II of galloping urbanization and
private transportation dominance. The urban plans of the modern Greek capital, bear witness of
the successive stages of urbanization linked to the development of a grid of spaces public
transport network. Their study and understanding of the conditions in which they were made
provide urban planners and researchers with the tools they need to further understand and
analyse the urban development of the Greek capital during the 20th century.

By the end of 1970s, the public spaces of Athens resembled numerous construction sites.Neighbourh... more By the end of 1970s, the public spaces of Athens resembled numerous construction sites.Neighbourhood streets transformed into playgrounds, central avenues redesigned to host tram lines, and public squares refurbished with urban furniture, together created a brand new image for the city’s historical centre. After the 1990s, state authorities extensively
promoted widespread pedestrianisation, whilst understanding of the practice of walking per se, or the factors that stimulate social interaction in public space, are issues that have been losing prominence within public debate (Kanellopoulou, 2015, p. 43). Since 2000, in a context of aggravated economic crisis, the Ministry’s investment and private
sponsorships in showcase pedestrianisation projects have mostly targeted central zones with high symbolic and economic value (Chatzimichalis, 2011). Animating street life is seen as a priority issue in discussions and studies of public space planning. At the same
time, sophisticated green promenades, restaurants, and cafes proliferate in central streets, and privately funded projects prioritise leisure activities or glamorous landscape designs as key factors in the ‘success’ of public space (Siatista, 2011). However, the extensive use of pedestrianisation by Greek public space planning authorities does not necessarily link the social role of walking with the ‘success’ of public spaces.
Furthermore, pedestrianisation initiatives fail to respond to the escalation of real estate prices (due to costly projects) and risk the homogenisation of the commercial, physical and social environment of the places concerned. Considering pedestrianisation as a remedy to improve public space risks marginalising the plural character of walking
which, more than transport or leisure activity, remains a social practice intrinsically linked to the life, image and function of Athenian public space.

This article examines walking as a spatial-temporal practice as well as a transformative practice... more This article examines walking as a spatial-temporal practice as well as
a transformative practice within public space. The historical center of
Athens has recently undergone a major transformation of its public
spaces, produced mostly by major pedestrianization projects within
the context of a reworking of the archaeological touristic profile of the
capital. This article aims to explore the plural facets of experiencing
the city while walking, which have been neglected by Greek planning
authorities. Temporality, rhythmicity and presence make walking a
meaningful practice that goes beyond the objective perception of
the trail. Drawing on the narratives of six citizens while walking, this
article seeks to develop a vocabulary capable of informing public
space design. The author, who takes a geographical, ethnographic
perspective, aims to contribute through developing fieldwork
methods and deepening the debate on public space planning by
revealing walking as a place-anchored experience.

Books by Dimitra Kanellopoulou

La marche occupe de plus en plus le devant de la scène des politiques urbaines et des campagnes p... more La marche occupe de plus en plus le devant de la scène des politiques urbaines et des campagnes
promotionnelles des villes. Ce n’est pas un hasard si cette pratique propre à l’être humain est devenue un terrain
prometteur de recherche et d’innovation, et si elle se trouve au coeur des enjeux relatifs à l’aménagement des
espaces publics urbains. Moyen de déplacement à moindre coût, chaînon indispensable du système des transports
urbains, exercice physique mais aussi moyen d’expression artistique, la marche est l’un des fondements de la vie
urbaine. Pendant plus d’un siècle, elle a prospéré dans les rues sinueuses des cités médiévales, avant d’être mise
en marge des grands axes de circulation, menacée par la prédominance de l’automobile. Elle a finalement
effectué un retour triomphant dans les années 1970, avec la création de zones dédiées et le développement de
promenades soignées dans les centres villes. La marche semble aujourd’hui avoir enfin trouvé la place qui lui
revient au sein de la planification urbaine. Pourtant la question demeure : les politiques d’aménagement ont-elles
suffisamment exploré cette pratique sociale composite ? En décortiquant la relation entre la marche urbaine et
son environnement, cette thèse examine les conditions d’une amélioration de la planification urbanistique. En
s’appuyant sur le cas du centre historique d’Athènes, la recherche opte pour une triple approche. D’abord, elle
examine l’évolution des politiques publiques à partir des années 1970, au cours desquelles la marche a sans
conteste bénéficié d’un intérêt accru de la part des aménageurs. Dès lors, plusieurs grands projets de
piétonnisation furent inscrits dans des procédures de régénération urbaine. Les planificateurs mirent l’accent sur
le développement de la dimension touristico-culturelle des zones situées autour de l’Acropole. Cette
multiplication des projets en faveur de la marche fut orchestrée par des intérêts divers. Elle a fait surgir de
nouveaux acteurs dans l’arène de l’aménagement public et a eu un puissant impact sur le caractère et le
fonctionnement des lieux publics. Malgré un réel savoir-faire en matière de piétonnisation forgé au fil des ans, la
pratique de la marche en soi a été très peu analysée par les différents acteurs Athéniens de l’aménagement
urbain. Au-delà d’une trame de zones piétonnes essentiellement touristiques, cette recherche examine donc, dans
un deuxième temps, la marche dans des espaces dont le caractère ne répond pas à l’image prévalente des espaces
piétonnisés du centre-ville. Exposés à des transformations liées à l’occupation des sols et au paysage du centreville,
ces espaces controversés se trouvent au coeur de la tempête : leur reconfiguration est soumise à de fortes
pressions des usagers et des pouvoirs politiques. Comment et pourquoi la marche prospère-t-elle dans la
rue Athinas et la place Omonoia qui, bien qu’elles soient taxées de dégradées ou chaotiques, parviennent à
accueillir des populations et des usages étonnamment mixtes ? L’étude des pratiques piétonnières, révèle une
variété d’appropriations de l’espace public étroitement liée à l’histoire des lieux, des usages des rez-de-chaussée
commerciaux et aux habitus de la vie quotidienne. Si la marche se déploie à l’extérieur, elle est également une
affaire personnelle. La compréhension de la façon dont les gens expérimentent la marche et donnent un sens aux
lieux, permet de mieux saisir le fonctionnement de ces derniers dans le temps et de mieux interpréter la manière
dont ils peuvent être conçus. Les ambiances, les habitudes, les humeurs et les souvenirs créent la façon dont
chacun habite l’espace public. En accompagnant vingt Athéniens pendant leurs itinéraires quotidiens, la
recherche révèle et explicite dans un troisième temps, un éventail de manières d’interagir avec l’environnement
traversé. Les piétons tissent leurs itinéraires au fur et à mesure de leurs déambulations, en s’appuyant sur un
guide émotionnel combinant des croyances culturelles, des représentations communes et des stimuli sensoriels
qui font de la marche une pratique créatrice d’espace public. La marche devient ainsi un instrument permettant
de valoriser les identités plurielles de la ville. Elle génère une liberté d’action et d’appropriation des lieux
communs. Par conséquent, l’expérience de l’espace public dépasse les limites de ce qui peut être vu ou senti. La
valeur sociale de la pratique de la marche repose ainsi sur les différentes manières d’habiter l’espace urbain tout
en se sentant capable d’y interférer pour le (re)définir. La fabrication de parcours multiples facilite une
compréhension polysémique des lieux et dessine la dimension démocratique de l’espace public.

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Nov 23, 2022

Ambiances

Ambiances, 2017

Confins, 2018

The Senses and Society, 2017

Bulletin de l'Association de géographes français

International Journal of Tourism Cities

Bulletin de l'Association de géographes français