yppa 2014 abstract

8/10/2019 YPPA 2014 Abstract

1/4

Several European cities have a long and important

history, traces of which are present within the

modern urban fabric, creating layers of time andclaiming to define the experience and perception

that users, citizens or visitors, have of the places that

accommodate them. As these elements are parts of

a citys history, their examination unfolds the cultural

and the urban heritage of the places. While in many

cases they outline the form of the built environment,

urban heritage elements are also known to have been

jeopardized by the constant development, as they

have often been in conflict with concurrent needs or

policies.

Such cases are easily explained by terms of real estate

or other technical aspects and more often than not

they are justified in city councils as necessary

actions towards the direction of development. It

is not hard to imagine for example that arguing for

the demolition of a three-storey building, which had

been constructed in 1591 in the centre of Heraklion,

Crete and survived for over 3,5 centuries before its

last parts were torn down in 1961, was probably

mainly based on the increased land value in andaround the city centre in which it was situated. The

great Fondaco gave its place to indifferent modern

buildings that today house commercial or residential

uses, in a district with possibly some of the highest

land values in Greece. Unfortunately, the example of

Fondaco is not unique in the history of Heraklion. A

considerable number of buildings or other structures

of high cultural value were in whole or partly

devoured by the beast that is modern progress, as the

local authorities failed to see the merits of preservingthese treasures and integrating them in the city grid.

The Venetian fortification system or the Venetian Walls

of Heraklion is an element that dominates the citys

history since its founding as well as the urban form

since its expansion till the precinct. Subsequently,

the city adapted some of its functions to comply

with both the limitations set and the opportunities

offered by the dramatic structure. The site is a cultural

asset with unparalleled importance and at the sametime has the potential to act as a great public space.

Nevertheless, the modern city has moved its activities

to the limited open space thats available in the centre

and tends to neglect the jewel that the Venetian walls

are.

At the dawn of the 21st century, almost 400 years after

it was built, the magnificent structure, rare example

of the Venetian fortification architecture of the time,seems like its losing ground to the cafeterias, bars

and shops as the citys symbol. However, it is precisely

today that the city needs to look back at its past and

try to revive all the things that once made it great,

recover hidden potential and use it to emerge from

the crisis as a city of tomorrow, with international

appeal and impact. The overall development strategy

for the city cant be comprehensive enough unless it

takes into account the Venetian walls and integrates

them in the urban fabric and everyday life.

In order to deal with social, environmental and

unfortunately also financial impediments that the

city is currently faced with, the proposal for the

regeneration of the linear park of the Venetian walls

seeks to deploy the tools of urban sustainability and

puts its principles to the test. The goal is not simply to

re-create a green space, although that alone would

be a perfectly justifiable target, given the lack of

designated green public areas in the city. The situation

is rendered much worse under the comparison withsome north European cities like Copenhagen (DK),

Malm or Lund (SE).

Nevertheless, the project aims to address bigger

issues, ranging from the preservation and restoration

of abandoned or misused building shells with cultural

value to the use of the scarce resource of underground

water for irrigation due to the lack of rainfall during

the summer months, or the enhancement of the

micro-climate. As the proposal ventures to re-brandthe city by highlighting the iconic structure and

convincing people of the merits its use offers, it

needs to resolve existing conflicts emerging also

from faulty decisions in terms of granted land uses on

and around the site. From the aspect of planning, it is

imperative that the friction-causing threats as well as

the opportunities that can arise from a rational and

successful regeneration scheme are identified.

The location and the character of the site are suchthat provide with possibilities to generate a broader

impact on the city, with urban development that can

extend beyond the physical limits of the monument

or its buffer zone and diffuse in the whole urban fabric.

The proposal, through its actions and tools, envisions

The citys green necklace

Public spaces with cultural value

Sustainable integration of a historical monument into the urban fabric and city life

International Young Planning Professionals Award (YPPA), 2014 abstract submission


2/4

to initiate solutions or at least improvements on

issues regarding unemployment, social coherence,

gentrification, urban blight, preservation of cultural

heritage, micro-climate and environment and small

scale entrepreneurship.

By targeting the peoples lifestyle and trying to

provoke changes in an outdated urban mentality,

the Citys Green Necklace is more than a landscapingproject. It is a project that will facelift the character

of the city and open its vast potential for sustainable

development from the inside, engaging some of

the great forces that are latent today, hindered by ill

policies, poor decisions and failed, market-oriented

development models.

Nasos Alexis, May 2014


3/4

Several European cities have a long and

important history, traces of which are present

within the modern urban fabric, creating layers

of time and claiming to define the experience and

perception that users, citizens or visitors, have of the

places that accommodate them. As these elements

are parts of a citys history, their examination

unfolds the cultural and the urban heritage of the

places. While in many cases they outline the form

of the built environment, urban heritage elementsare also known to have been jeopardized by the

constant development, as they have often been in

conflict with concurrent needs or policies.

Such cases are easily explained by terms of real estate

or other technical aspects and more often than

not they are justified in city councils as necessary

actions towards the direction of development. It is

not hard to imagine for example that arguing for the

demolition of a three-storey building, which hadbeen constructed in 1591 in the centre of Heraklion,

Crete and survived for over 3,5 centuries before its

last parts were torn down in 1961, was probably

mainly based on the increased land value in and

around the city centre in which it was situated.

The great Fondaco gave its place to indifferent

modern buildings that today house commercial or

residential uses, in a district with possibly some of

the highest land values in Greece. Unfortunately,

the example of Fondaco is not unique in the history

of Heraklion. A considerable number of buildings

or other structures of high cultural value were

in whole or partly devoured by the beast that is

modern progress, as the local authorities failed to

see the merits of preserving these treasures and

integrating them in the city grid.

The Venetian fortification system or the Venetian

Walls of Heraklion is an element that dominates

the citys history since its founding as well as the

urban form since its expansion till the precinct.Subsequently, the city adapted some of its functions

to comply with both the limitations set and the

opportunities offered by the dramatic structure. The

site is a cultural asset with unparalleled importance

and at the same time has the potential to act as a

great public space. Nevertheless, the modern city

has moved its activities to the limited open space

thats available in the centre and tends to neglect

the jewel that the Venetian walls are.

At the dawn of the 21st century, almost 400 years

after it was built, the magnificent structure, rare

example of the Venetian fortification architecture

of the time, seems like its losing ground to thecafeterias, bars and shops as the citys symbol.

However, it is precisely today that the city needs to

look back at its past and try to revive all the things

that once made it great, recover hidden potential

and use it to emerge from the crisis as a city of

tomorrow, with international appeal and impact.

The overall development strategy for the city cant

be comprehensive enough unless it takes into

account the Venetian walls and integrates them in

the urban fabric and everyday life.

In order to deal with social, environmental and

unfortunately also financial impediments that the

city is currently faced with, the proposal for the

regeneration of the linear park of the Venetian walls

seeks to deploy the tools of urban sustainability

and puts its principles to the test. The goal is not

simply to re-create a green space, although that

alone would be a perfectly justifiable target, given

the lack of designated green public areas in the city.

The situation is rendered much worse under the

comparison with some north European cities like

Copenhagen (DK), Malm or Lund (SE).

Nevertheless, the project aims to address bigger

issues, ranging from the preservation and

restoration of abandoned or misused building shells

with cultural value to the use of the scarce resource

of underground water for irrigation due to the

lack of rainfall during the summer months, or the

enhancement of the micro-climate. As the proposalventures to re-brand the city by highlighting the

iconic structure and convincing people of the merits

its use offers, it needs to resolve existing conflicts

THECITYSGREENNECKLACE

Public spaces with cultural value

Sustainable integration of a historical monument into the urban fabric and city life

Nasos Alexis, Planning and Regional Development Eng., MSc Sustainable Urban Design

International Young Planning Professionals Award (YPPA), 2014 abstract submission


4/4

emerging also from faulty decisions in terms of

granted land uses on and around the site. From the

aspect of planning, it is imperative that the friction-

causing threats as well as the opportunities that can

arise from a rational and successful regeneration

scheme are identified.

The location and the character of the site are such

that provide with possibilities to generate a broader

impact on the city, with urban development

that can extend beyond the physical limits of the

monument or its buffer zone and diffuse in the

whole urban fabric. The proposal, through its actions

and tools, envisions to initiate solutions or at least

improvements on issues regarding unemployment,

social coherence, gentrification, urban blight,

preservation of cultural heritage, micro-climate and

environment and small scale entrepreneurship.

By targeting the peoples lifestyle and trying to

provoke changes in an outdated urban mentality,

the Citys Green Necklace is more than a landscaping

project. It is a project that will facelift the character

of the city and open its vast potential for sustainable

development from the inside, engaging some of

the great forces that are latent today, hindered by ill

policies, poor decisions and failed, market-oriented

development models.

Nasos Alexis, May 2014

yppa 2014 abstract

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