Assessing coastal urban sprawl in the Athens’ southern waterfront for reaching sustainability and resilience objectives

Abstract

Waterfront management constitutes one of the most challenging research areas for spatial planning and a key driver for urban development. As such, it has unceasingly being placed at the epicenter of the scientific and policy-making debate over time. In a rapidly changing decision environment, marked by recession, climate change, urbanization, blue growth, etc., the interest in coastal zone management and related planning endeavours is constantly escalating. Raising is also the concern for serving sustainability and resilience objectives of urban coastal fronts, further amplified in case of coastal metropolitan regions, i.e. areas that are subject to intense urban sprawl pressures and intensification of land/sea uses. In such regions, population over-concentration and deployment of hyper-local infrastructures/functions leads to the formation of strong developmental enclaves along the coastline, with multiple consequences on the marine and coastal ecosystems, the local identity as well as the territorial and social cohesion of the coastal communities. Managing the fragile and highly vulnerable urban coastal zones is currently dealt with the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). A key issue in this respect lies on the understanding of the causes behind coastal urbanization and their use in relevant planning endeavours, ending up with policy actions and institutional regulatory mechanisms. Having as a pilot field of research one of the most intriguing parts of the Athens’ southern waterfront (Faliro-Elliniko), the focus of this work is on: identifying the main drivers behind its structure/dynamics and degree of integration into the city; studying and evaluating its spatio-functional transformations; and illuminating the typological characteristics of the coastal zone that affect its vulnerability and spatial continuity. The ultimate goal is to highlight the necessity for a multi-dimensional and spatio-temporal approach for assessing coastal urban sprawl and monitoring its effects on the natural and manmade environment.