Public participation in planning: Experiences from Athens, Greece

Abstract

This chapter identifies the interconnections between civic engagement, public participation, and the formal decision-making process in spatial planning in Greece by analyzing two distinct civil society initiatives: the SynAthina Platform, and the Cultural HIDRANT. These initiatives are exemplary case studies of participatory and civic engagement processes in Athens, in which citizens actively participate in the structure of urban spaces and spatial processes. More specifically, the SynAthina social innovation platform facilitates novel community-led solutions for local problems and a new culture of public policy-making. The Cultural HIDRANT is an innovative project that focuses on analyzing the Hadrian Aqueduct as a vehicle to reveal local cultural capital through tangible and intangible heritage and is funded through the Urban Innovative Actions program. The analysis assesses whether and to what extent the public participation processes in Greece are incorporated into the formal process of setting priorities in spatial planning.