Renovation projects at Faliro Bay

Nonetheless, very few of the remediation and access projects were actually realised. The sports facilities were made permanent and included commercial buildings and marinas for small vessels. An extension of the National Highway was constructed above Kifissos river, including a new interchange. The result was that after the Olympics the seafront at Faliro Bay was blocked by port facilities in most of its length, most of the land was occupied by bulky constructions, open spaces were barren, access to the site had become more difficult while traffic loads had increased. In addition, by virtue of the law on “Sustainable Development and Social Utilisation of Olympic Venues” (2005), the ownership of the seafront area passed to Hellenic Olympic Properties SA, whose objective was the commercial utilisation of the assets it owned. Their plans were met with strong reactions from local authorities and residents of the neighbouring municipalities who, during the preparation for the Games, had already expressed their dissatisfaction with the severe environmental footprint of the projects and had questioned the feasibility and the reasoning behind their development. This dissatisfaction is mounting to this day as the residents are cut-off from the beach and their expectations for the restoration of the landscape were frustrated.

In March 2006, the “Stavros Niarchos Foundation” announced its intention to sponsor the Opera complex and the deal between them and the State was ratified by the Greek Parliament in July 2009. In January 2011, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change presented a plan for a park in the area in order to minimize reactions and pave the way for the construction of the project. A plan was also announced for a “cultural corridor” between the waterfront and the city’s historic centre. At the same time, work started on the project to convert the Tae Kwon Do stadium into a conference centre and the idea to build a cruise port at Faliro Bay was floated. The old plan for the tourist utilisation of the area became highly relevant, given the debt crisis plaguing Greece. Tourism development was connected to privatisation policies, which aimed at installing oligopolies. . At the same time, a plan to develop the Saronic coast as the “Athens Riviera” was launched, based on emergency regulations on public-private partnerships. This plan envisages the sale of land and concessions on infrastructure; it is linked to city marketing efforts.

In this context, the redesign of Faliro Bay, especially the Opera and Library buildings, serves as a magnet to attract tourism investment. Several aspects of the project’s function have drawn criticism. Although the project’s proponents have highlighted the project’s contribution to raising the area’s quality of life and to upgrading its environment, the connection of an island of prosperity to the social dynamics and needs of neighbouring residential areas is considered problematic. Its importance for local employment is also disputed; according to international experience, such projects usually generate fewer jobs than anticipated. These jobs are in fact low-paid and insecure. The priority given to financial viability as well as the maintenance needs of such high-profile facilities, especially at a time of economic recession, could make this project vulnerable to privatisation, but also to attempts to allow further development at the expense of environmental quality. Due to their “metropolitan” significance these projects were allowed to bypass public consultation and existing planning priorities, especially since private entities that are favoured by the public sector were involved. In this case, the role of the sponsor in the project’s future operation remains controversial. An important issue also arises from the ideological function of the project, which draws a cultural veil over the consumerist reconstruction of the city’s image; an image that does not reflect current living conditions in Athens.

The redesign of Faliro Bay shares the same characteristics as the “flagship projects” implemented in areas such as Baltimore, Glasgow, Bilbao and Barcelona during the last thirty years, though arguably at a much smaller scale. Such projects serve the international competition of cities to attract investment capital and visitors. They typically surround emblematic buildings of major cultural institutions with office towers, shopping centres, sports and tourist infrastructure, in areas of high symbolic value and a significant land reserve, such as old harbours and waterfronts of cities affected by de-industrialisation. These are projects that radically change our perception of the city, turning our attention to its operation as a consumption centre rather than its productive dynamics and its social issues. They radically change our understanding of urban planning as they direct public resources to serve private business plans at the expense of the common benefit. They turn the city’s collective experience into a topic for the entertainment industry and produce images of innovation, financial success and political mastery for domestic and international consumption.