Changing Socio-Spatial Identities. The case of the Asia Minor Refugee Urban Settlements in the Greater Athens-Piraeus Region in Greece

Abstract

The paper presents the main findings of a research conducted in the metropolitan region of the capital of Greece, focusing on the Asia Minor post-refugee urban neighborhoods. The research took place in 2009-2014, with parts of it updated during 2016-2019 and 2020-2023. The main findings of the research outline the issue of changing socio-spatial identity, emphasizing on the socio-economic discrepancies in the housing sector, as met within the urban refugee settlements. The paper explores the contemporary physiognomy of the post-refugee Attica that faces dereliction and demolitions of the old refugee houses. To explain the significance of these settlements, the paper combines literature review and field work. Field work includes original cartographic depiction, quantitative and qualitative methods. The aim of the paper is to provide findings on the contemporary situation of the urban refugee settlements of Attica, describing representative cases within the spectrum of urban socio-spatial identity transformation.