Social and Spatial Transformation in 21st Century Athens

This volume highlights part of the research analyses and findings of the research program titled: "Trends of Social Transformation in Urban Space: Social Reproduction, Social Inequalities, and Social Cohesion in 21st-Century Athens." The program involved a large number of researchers from the Institute of Urban and Rural Sociology (IAAK) of the National Centre for Social Research (EKKE) and many external collaborators, specialized scientists. This research effort was funded by the "Excellence 11" program of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology.

The texts in the volume largely begin, either explicitly or implicitly, with the issues and/or dilemmas posed by these conditions and trends of change in early 21st-century Athens. However, it is evident that the multiplicity of both the aspects of the subject matter and the concerns of contemporary urban sociology itself have, to a great extent, led researchers down paths that do not easily fit into the necessarily structured general approaches. From another perspective, however, these paths complement and enrich those general approaches. Based on this multifaceted nature of the work, the contributions have been grouped into three broad sections. The first covers the specific theme "Spatial Structures and Social Transformations," the second addresses the broader theme "Socioeconomic Structures, Perceptions, and Practices," while the third deals with certain more specific but significant topics under the title "Quality of Life in the City: Use and Claiming of Public Spaces."