Last updated: September 2022
Hellenikon Metropolitan Park will be a large urban park located in Hellinikon, Athens, Greece. The park will be the central attraction of the Hellinikon project. It will provide Athens with a much needed ecological boost. When finished the park will be the largest in Europe. It will be approximately 200 hectares spanning the site of the former Hellenikon International Airport (Ref 4). The project will follow an integrated approach to sustainability. The objective is to boost greenery and create high-quality spaces while minimizing the natural resources used, protecting and enhancing the ecosystems in the region, and also raising awareness and educating the public on sustainability issues (Ref 1). Initially, the project was planned to start in 2008 and to be completed by 2013, but with the unfortunate and unseeing financial crisis worldwide, was shelved. A part of the project has been completed in the first 5 years. In 2013, a new design strategy for the project was submitted as part of The Hellinikon Project. The team included Foster & Partners, Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture, ARUP and a group of Greek design consultants. The design was revised and resubmitted to the Greek government in 2018 (Ref 3). The project is now under the consideration of the Greek Ministry of Culture for infrastructure and monuments (Ref 1).
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- Coastlines
- Community gardens and allotments
- Allotments
- Community gardens
- Green areas for water management
- Rain gardens
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
- House gardens
- Green parking lots
- Green playgrounds and school grounds
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
- Green corridors and green belts
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change mitigation
- Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
- Coastal protection / hazard mitigation
- Environmental quality
- Air quality improvement
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Green space creation and/or management
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Regulation of built environment
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Improving mental health
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Tourism support
- Employment/job creation
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Transformation of previously derelict areas
Project objectives
The goal of the Hellenikon Metropolitan Park is to, (a) provide the city with a huge green space area, (b) to draw one million additional tourists every year in Athens, (c) to plant more than 33,000 trees and 565,000 low vegetation, (d) use renewable sources of energy with green construction with bioclimatic solutions, (e) and to have a prototype urban development with a low building coefficient by 0.5 (Ref 1, 2).
Implementation activities
Hellenikon Metropolitan Park will be 2 million square meters, providing the city with the green space it desperately needs as well as a park nearly twice the size of New York's Central Park, and featuring 2 miles of Mediterranean coastline. The plans include implementing archaeological and cultural landmarks, entertainment venues, and health and educational center. In addition to the giant park, a thousand hotel rooms, a high-rise residential tower, offices, shopping center, marina, and an aquarium are all part of the plan designed to draw one million additional tourists every year in Athens (Ref 2, 3). A detailed description states, (a) the Park will consist of seven carefully constructed interconnecting precincts. Each precinct’s distinct character will be defined by its natural environment, unique features and rich sense of place, (b) the Trachonon Nature Center with 2 lakes, (c) the Trachonon Athletics Facility spanning two different zones, (d) the Sculpture Park and the Exhibition area with the Saarinen building as a centerpiece, (e) the Urban Agriculture area with a prototype eco-cultivation park, (f) the Olympics Place Plaza, (g) the Hangars area, (h) the Attica Woodlands, where a preserved Boeing 747 Passenger Jet will mark the location of the former airport (Ref 1).
Regarding the status of the project: Initially, the project was planned to start in 2008 and to be completed by 2013, but with the unfortunate and unseeing financial crisis worldwide, was shelved. A part of the project has been completed in the first 5 years. In 2018, a new design strategy for the project was resubmitted. The project is now under the consideration of the Greek Ministry of Culture for infrastructure and monuments (Ref 1).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change mitigation:
- Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Restore ecological connectivity
Main beneficiaries
- National-level government
- Private sector/Corporate/Company
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- National government
- Private sector/corporate actor/company
- Private foundation/trust
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Citizen monitoring and review
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
In 2005, an international team led by architects David Serero, Elena Fernandez and landscape architect Philippe Coignet won the international competition to design a metropolitan park on the former site of the Hellenikon Airport, over more than 300 teams of architects. The competition was sponsored by UIA (International Union of Architects), the Greek Ministry of Environment and the Organization for the Planning and Environmental Protection of Athens (ORSA) (Ref 4). The following private groups are involved in developing the project, (a) Global Investment Group, an international consortium of investors including the Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group, Eagle Hills from Abu Dhabi. (b) Latsis Group - who have joined forces to undertake the project of redeveloping Hellinikon (c) LAMDA Development S.A (Ref 1, 3). These groups are involved in the management, planning, and construction of the project. (d) Association of Greek Architects - Panhellenic Union of Architects (SADAS-PEA) in the development of the architecture (Ref 5)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Yes
(The law 3986/2011 of the Medium-term Fiscal Strategy established by the Greek government, the EU, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Europan Cental Bank (ECB) in the development of the area as a state-owned asset.(Ref 5). )
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(March 2012, L. 4062/2012 was passed for the development of Hellinikon area (Ref 5). )
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Corporate investment
- Private Foundation/Trust
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
- Tax exemption
- Donations
Non-financial contribution
No
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased number of species present
- Restoration of derelict areas
Economic impacts
- Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Attraction of business and investment
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Health and wellbeing
- Improved mental health
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. The Hellinikon Metropolitan Park. URL: Source link. Accessed on 8th July, 2020.
2. Athens is building the world’s largest city park. 2014. Smart cities dive. URL: Source link. Accessed on 8th July, 2020.
3. The Hellinikon-Urban Development Project, Athens. Lamda Development. URL: Source link. Accessed on 8th July, 2020.
4. The Hellinikon Metropolitan Park. Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia. URL: Source link. Accessed on 8th July, 2020.
5. Prentou. P. 2012. More Athenian sociospatial injustice in the works? Creating a metropolitan park at the former Hellinikon International Airport of Athens. Conference paper for presentation at the AESOP 26th Annual Congress July 11-15. Ankara: Turkey.
2. Athens is building the world’s largest city park. 2014. Smart cities dive. URL: Source link. Accessed on 8th July, 2020.
3. The Hellinikon-Urban Development Project, Athens. Lamda Development. URL: Source link. Accessed on 8th July, 2020.
4. The Hellinikon Metropolitan Park. Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia. URL: Source link. Accessed on 8th July, 2020.
5. Prentou. P. 2012. More Athenian sociospatial injustice in the works? Creating a metropolitan park at the former Hellinikon International Airport of Athens. Conference paper for presentation at the AESOP 26th Annual Congress July 11-15. Ankara: Turkey.