The Urban Refugee Settlements of Xanthi (1922–1930): Recording and Typological-Morphological Analysis of the Existing Refugee Dwellings

Abstract

AbstractThis paper aims to present the first results of a research program(In the context of the doctoral thesis, conducted by the architect Mrs. Eirini Tsetine, with a scholarship from the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI), supervised by Prof. Mr. N. Lianos and is part of the research programs of the Morphology-Rhythmology Laboratory of DUTH. ) which examines the refugee settlements that were established in the prefecture of Xanthi, in northern Greece, after the end of the Asia Minor Campaign (1919–1922), to permanently accommodate the refugees coming from the regions of Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace and Pontus. The refugee flow towards Greece, which was originally initiated before the armed conflict, continued during the events of the Asia Minor Campaign (1919–1922) and was finally concluded with the exchange of population between Greece and Turkey, as dictated by the Treaty of Lausanne (Lianos 2013, p. 1). The permanent settlement of the refugees was carried out under the auspices of the League of Nations, via the establishment of the Refugee Settlement Commission (RSC). The refugee settlements were divided into two main categories, rural and urban. Urban refugee settlements were created in cities such as Athens and Piraeus and regions such as Thessaly, central Greece, the Aegean islands, Macedonia and Western Thrace. Especially in the last area, where Xanthi is located, the need for housing was higher, as the Muslim population had been excluded from the compulsory exchange and for this reason, there were not enough empty properties to be reused for the settlement of the refugees. The urban refugee settlements of Xanthi belong in this wide network, that was established throughout Greece, and they consist of four areas known as “Stratonon”, “Kyplselis” and “Gymnastiriou” settlement and part of the “Assa” district. The main features of this work are the presentation of the process of identifying and recording the existing urban refugee dwellings in Xanthi, as well as their classification in building types and their morphological analysis.KeywordsUrban refugee dwellingsUrban refugee settlementsXanthi