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Papers by Avgerinos A Vlachos

Newcastle University, School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape (SAPL), 2017

An (imaginary) critical dialogue between two individuals, discussing a planning-related case (see... more An (imaginary) critical dialogue between two individuals, discussing a planning-related case (see more Information) that stands as an analytical perambulation through the themes, concepts and arguments of the most prominent schools of thought in the planning theory literature.

Reference:
Vlachos A. (2017), Planning reflections: An imaginary dialogue, Newcastle University: School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape (SAPL)

MORE INFORMATION (the planning-related case)
Sunshine Town was the name used by the residents of an informal settlement situated right in the middle of Optimopolis. Sunshine Town had sprung up on land that had previously been occupied by the most ancient quarter of Optimopolis. After an earthquake devastated the original buildings, residents had attempted to move on with life and rebuild as best as they could. The neighbouring district had been prioritised for reconstruction and saw new businesses located there with government money and new homes for the business owners. The opportunity to live in the city centre with good nearby employment opportunities drew new families to the devastated area and Sunshine Town was born. The area had never had much in the way of modern water, sanitation and power utilities and the earthquake reduced access to these even further. Nevertheless, the draw of the growing city economy was strong and the land was soon filled with a patchwork of ad-hoc dwellings. Organised grassroots groups began to emerge in Sunshine Town, working to improve their own environment and lobbying for government assistance to improve living standards and access to infrastructure. The residents of the neighbouring district began to lobby the city government too. They claimed that Sunshine Town harboured dangerous criminal gangs and it couldn’t be denied that street crime arrests had increased.

The government of Optimopolis had a vision to become the second city of their nation as it shouldered its way onto the global stage. This vision involved the modernization of civic infrastructure and the improvement of housing, public health and public space for the city’s inhabitants. A proposal from the National Economic Development Corporation to buy and redevelop the land occupied by Sunshine Town seemed like a perfect opportunity. Optimopolis would get a huge boost to its economy and the part of the proceeds from the land sale could be used to move the residents of Sunshine Town to new, purpose-built housing designed to meet the higher living standards they were calling for. Sunshine Suburb was built, the fifth new development to follow a tried and tested blueprint consisting of sturdy concrete apartment blocks with good communal water and sanitation facilities. It was a little further away from the city centre than some of the other new residential developments – space was at a premium – but the Optimopolis government arranged for trucks and buses to move the thousands of residents of Sunshine Town the ten miles to their new homes. A new central business district was built and many residents of the older business district claimed to see a reduction in street crime. The government of Optimpolis is satisfied that they have done well, improved the lives of their citizens and taken important steps towards being a modern efficient city. A team of researchers has just arrived in Optimopolis, a mixture of local academics and their colleagues from overseas, funded by UN Habitat. They aren’t so sure that the government have got it right. (This scenario was built solely by Dr. Andrew Donaldson, Newcastle University)

Newcastle University, School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape (SAPL), 2017

This report advises the given business to reject or delay the proposed investment, maintaining it... more This report advises the given business to reject or delay the proposed investment, maintaining its initial capital as a liquidity safeguard against the current and the prospected (at least until the end of 2018) turbulences in both the wider economic environment and the market within which this business operates.

The structure of this report assists the substantiation of the afore-mentioned advice: Section 2 presents the assumptions that frame the firm and its market structure, allowing for a glimpse of the debates and the wider environment shadowing both this market and the UK; Section 3 elaborates the findings from the investment appraisal techniques (see Appendix), delineating their practical meanings in relation to the potential entrepreneurial objectives that the given investment connotes; Section 4, after approaching the risk attitudes that this investment implies for the given business, it justifies the selection of variables that portray the wider economic environment, and the market conditions, through mutually supportive forecasts from various institutions that question the validity of the previous findings; finally, Section 5 clearly restates the afore-mentioned advice, summarising its supporting arguments.

For the whole paper, please contact me via my emai: avgevl@gmail.com

Reference:
Vlachos A. (2017), Investment Appraisal Report, Newcastle University: School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape (SAPL)

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: School of Spatial Planning & Development, 2016

This research investigates the developmental reformation of metropolitan Athens through an ‘inter... more This research investigates the developmental reformation of metropolitan Athens through an ‘internationalisation’ strategy of its economy with the aim of exiting the crisis. In the context of this strategy, economic functions (or sectors or activities) acknowledged by prominent scholars of the global/world city literature as of paramount importance, are empirically examined, for the improvement of the metropolis’ role into the regional or globalised economy. Utilising the qualitative analysis of eight (8) interviews, conclusions are drawn regarding the degree in which the afore-mentioned sectors can comprise (from-the-top) developmental priorities for the greek capital, as well as in vivo priorities and broader issues in which the city’s developmental planning should pay attention to. The paper’s final aim is to designate developmental priorities for Athens, and through them, to formulate policy guidelines so as to escape the crisis. Chapter A unravels the under-scrutiny literature and its following critique; Chapter B presents a detailed profile of Athens that highlights the crisis and delivers the formulation of the analysis’ framework, namely the selection of five (5) groups of activities from the literature so as to investigate their developmental significance, and finally, gives an initial review of these groups; Chapter C delineates the adopted methodology for the empirical research, and develops part of the qualitative analysis’ conclusions, as a means of diagnosis; Chapter D identifies developmental priorities in vivo by the privileged witnesses, presents the conclusions over the degree in which these theory-imposed sectors stand as planning priorities, and realises the final composition of all these priorities (in order of importance), from which the most basic policy guidelines are emanated in order for Athens to exit the crisis. Finally, a short Epilogue sums up the key findings over the key research questions and poses new research frontiers.

For more info, please contact me via my emai: avgevl@gmail.com

Reference:
Vlachos A. (2016), High flights from steep cliffs: Metropolitan Athens' economic 'internationalisation' to exit the crisis (in greek), Bachelor thesis supervised by Assoc. Prof. Athena Yiannakou & Assist. Prof. Athanasios Kalogeresis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: School of Spatial Planning & Development

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: School of Spatial Planning & Development, Jun 2015

This work attempts an as far as possible analytical perambulation in the Global City (S. Sassen) ... more This work attempts an as far as possible analytical perambulation in the Global City (S. Sassen) and the World City (P. Hall, J. Friedmann) paradigm under the prism of globalisation, development and generally of geography (space/place). This literature review highlights the pure interdisciplinary character of the study of the urban phenomenon (city), because of the contributions that has received from diverse epistemological fields, without implying that the ‘city’ phenomenon is only confined within this particular bibliography. This research consists of three basic Sections. Section A illuminates conceptually the terms urbanisation, development and space. For this reason, it initially performs a small introduction to the city, and afterwards, it timely presents the various approaches of regional and urban development. Section B includes the central schools of thought of the bibliography concerned, from the dawn of the 20th century and the Chicago School, till the first decade of the new millennium, including the most recent approaches. Section C passes the afore-mentioned approaches through a filter of critique, either in respect to standalone hypotheses of their own, or for the introduction of holistic (cosmopolitan) narrations that take into account all cities. The Conclusions of the research sum up the literature review, and simultaneously trace the common ground of the last approaches of Economic Geography with the corresponding approaches of the global/world city bibliography, as well as pose several research questions in relation to the political strand of the topic.

For more info, please contact me via my emai: avgevl@gmail.com

Reference:
Vlachos A. (2015), Global cities & World cities: Issues of urbanisation, globalisation & development (in greek), Research thesis supervised by Assist. Prof. Athanasios Kalogeresis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: School of Spatial Planning & Development