Planning the social and cultural reactivation of urban open spaces

Main issues of the book are the cultural and social policy, respective forms of urban economies and their impact on chaotic urban environment. Over the last years, cultural policy and economy have turned open spaces into touristic attractions in line with the taste of the "outsider". In many cases, local actors have been forced to move out of the gentrified zones, mainly due to higher cost of living. The research focuses on two case studies in Greece, "Thessaloniki European Cultural Capital" in 1997 and "Olympic Games" in Athens 2004, which are analyzed according to their social impact. Afterwards, the research examines "social policy", the role of "social capital" in urban regenerations and "bottom-up initiatives", since they express a more democratic perception of urban cultural landscapes and inspire a more collective, sustainable and productive use of urban open spaces. Finally, a methodology of their reactivation is described along with two case studies: the first concerning the application of the proposed methodology in West Wall of Thessaloniki and the second referring to a realized community garden in the city center of Thessaloniki.