From abandoned municipal offices to theatres and car parks, informal local movements are reclaiming public space in the Greek capital. With the city’s progressive mayor on board they could reshape politics too Navarinou Park – part playground, part open-air cinema, part vegetable garden and verdant oasis – was never meant to be. On that, all of its participants agree. Stavros Stavrides, a professor of architecture at Athens’ National Technical University, is the first to say it; so, too, do the local residents who, spade in hand, also worked to transform an unprepossessing parking lot on the rim of Athens’ edgy Exarcheia district into a vibrant community garden. “Who’d have thought?” asks Effie Saroglou, a dancer, walking her dark-haired mutt around the park. “Who’d have imagined us ever sitting here?” says Yannis Mandris, a musician, watching a grainy rendition of Blade Runner in a makeshift arena on the other side of the lot. Something is stirring in the Greek capital – and in more ways than one Navarinou Park has come to represent it. The crisis has made a lot of Greeks want to work together. Had we not moved in, everything here would have gone to ruin. Our future is in our hands. Related: Athens under pressure: city races to clear port's refugee camp before tourists arrive Continue reading...
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