Athens Area Research Articles

Geographical Distribution of Small Physical Exercise Enterprises in the Greater Athens Area

Geographical Distribution of Small Physical Exercise Enterprises in the Greater Athens Area

Strategic dilemmas for the redevelopment of a former airport in Athens, Greece

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to address basic dilemmas of the strategic interventions policy delivery within the framework of spatial governance and the recent financial and social conjuncture in Europe. The related research concerns the case of the former ‘Hellinikon’ airport area in Athens. Because of the unfavourable economic situation and the inability to form an effective spatial governance framework, the state retreated and the initiative was taken by the private sector, shaping the frame for a fragmented ‘spatial fix’ of global economic activity.

Analysis of secondary inorganic aerosols over the greater Athens area using the EPISODE–CityChem source dispersion and photochemistry model

Abstract. Secondary inorganic aerosols (SIAs) are major components of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), having substantial implications for climate and air quality in an urban environment. In this study, a state-of-the-art thermodynamic model has been coupled to the source dispersion and photochemistry city-scale chemistry transport model EPISODE–CityChem, which is able to simulate pollutants at a horizontal resolution of 100 m×100 m, to determine the equilibrium between the inorganic gas and aerosol phases over the greater Athens area, Greece, for the year 2019. In agreement with in situ observations, sulfate (SO42-) is calculated to have the highest annual mean surface concentration (2.15 ± 0.88 µg m−3) among SIAs in the model domain, followed by ammonium (NH4+; 0.58 ± 0.14 µg m−3) and fine nitrate (NO3-; 0.24 ± 0.22 µg m−3). Simulations denote that NO3- formation strongly depends on the local nitrogen oxide emissions, along with the ambient temperature, the relative humidity, and the photochemical activity. Additionally, we show that anthropogenic combustion sources may have an important impact on the NO3- formation in an urban area. During the cold period, the combined effect of decreased temperature in the presence of non-sea-salt potassium favors the partitioning of HNO3 in the aerosol phase in the model, raising the NO3- formation in the area. Overall, this work highlights the significance of atmospheric composition and the local meteorological conditions for the equilibrium distribution of nitrogen-containing semi-volatile compounds and the acidity of inorganic aerosols, especially in urban areas where atmospheric trace elements from natural and anthropogenic sources coexist.

TOWARDS AN ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF CULTURE-DRIVEN INTERVENTIONS ON INTEGRATED LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING: INSIGHTS FROM THE CASE STUDY OF PIRAEUS AVENUE IN ATHENS, GREECE

In recent years, culture has been addressed as a key component of integrated approaches to local development planning. In this context, it has been systematically combined with institutional and social aspects of local planning strategies and in support of local innovation/creativity systems. However, the articulation of these integrated approaches inhibits a wide typology of context-specific actions in European cities adopting different patterns of promoting culture as an innovative dimension of spatial planning. At the same time, recent discussion in the field suggests the adoption of more holistic frameworks that equally address the role of culture with differentiated aspects such as physical renewal, social relations and governance networks, hence recognising the integrated character of culture-driven interventions and explaining hindering development factors. The present paper aims to elaborate on the importance of such a holistic framework by testing its aspects in the context of the Piraeus Avenue area in Athens (Greece) and the (short-term and fragmented) emanating of developmental policies in support of the creativity and innovation that exist in this locality. The research focuses on the impact of cultural interventions in the Piraeus Avenue area in terms of the building of territorial efficiency, territorial quality, territorial identity and territorial capacity. In parallel, the research addresses the role of demographic and socio-economic parameters in this regard. To address these research aim issues, desktop research together with ten (10) semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders were conducted. Results indicate several positive impacts in the area mostly regarding spatial quality. However, in relation to territorial capacity building, a key finding is the need for activation towards building complementary uses and activities with other types of local stakeholders with accentuated decision-making powers. The research findings can serve to inform policy-making by identifying best practices and key challenges in the formulation of a holistic impact assessment framework towards culture-based spatial development planning in the European space.

Ray-Tracing modeling for urban photovoltaic energy planning and management

The traditional Radiative Transfer Modelling solutions for Solar Energy monitoring and forecasting often provide outputs for a single point location or an area location. However, for high resolution representation of areas these solutions suffer due to low simulation speeds. This approach makes it difficult for decision-makers to accurately estimate the solar potential of the administrative area and plan installations accordingly. In this direction, the study introduces three-dimensional Ray-Tracing based radiative modeling which is a high-speed area-based solution for solar energy monitoring. The three-dimensional ray-tracing was simulated by using advanced graphic creation platforms and cloud computing in conjunction with satellite data of the clouds, aerosols, building shadows effects and three-dimensional representations of the city using Cesium 3D tiles and Unreal Engine ®. The entire system was developed in a hybrid model to be exploited by urban planners for solar PV installations and by electricity distribution system operators for energy management and efficient incorporation of the produced energy into the regular and smart grids. This study implements and analyses this Ray-Tracing model for solar photovoltaic energy potential estimation at a rooftop level for the city of Athens, Greece. The total rooftop exploitable area in Athens was found to be close to 34 km2, which is able to massively host distributed PVs followed by almost 4.3 TWh of annually produced energy, whilst Penteli (a Municipality in Athens) possessed a potential of 96.8 GWh with an exploitable area of just 0.8 km2. This amount of energy, in a hypothetical full coverage scenario, is able to provide for 48.7% of Athens’s total energy requirement. Similar year-long simulations were conducted using the EU’s largest rooftop solar installation at Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center and randomly selected rooftops having solar installations in different municipalities in Athens. With these estimated solar potential values, the gross savings in natural gas consumption and hence the CO2 equivalent emissions can be computed. With the current estimated solar potential of Athens, the analyzed savings accounted of nearly 2.43 billion euros and 18 MT CO2 equivalent emissions. These computed annual savings are capable of covering installation costs for nearly 100,000 new solar installations. The end-product of this study is the development of a solar cadastre web tool which will support the decision-makers in the energy transition policies and the solar PV penetration into the urban environment and eventually drive the effort into renewable energy transition across the globe.

The state of emergency medicine in Greece: at critical momentum

Greece is a parliamentary republic in southeastern Europe populated by over 10 million permanent residents: 9 million reside on the mainland, with almost 4 million in the greater Athens area. The remaining 1 million populate the over 1200 Greek islands. In addition, more than 160,000 asylum-seekers reached Greece in 2022, and more than 25 million tourists have visited Greece in the last two years. Modern Greek Emergency Medicine (EM) is now in its 4th decade. The Greek government has focused the last few years on enhancing the quality of emergency services provided in public hospitals. Emergency Departments (EDs) are being modernized, undergraduate medical education gradually incorporates EM, and a specialty training program in emergency nursing has been established. However, the late recognition of the critical importance of EM as a specialty in Greece has resulted in the subsequent need to create three alternative pathways to EM, none of which are direct from residency. The first is a 24-month Emergency Medicine fellowship after completing a residency in another specialty and then passing the national exam. The second is for physicians who have worked in a public hospital ED (Gr: Ethniko Systima Ygeias (ESY) ESY for at least three years and successfully passed the national exam. The third, which no longer exists, is a ‘grandfather’ pathway for those physicians who worked in an ESY ED for five years prior to the creation of the fellowship training program. As a result, there is a critical shortage of EM-trained physicians, resulting in most care being provided by physicians without formal training in EM. This is further confounded by the country’s challenging geography, with frequent air transfers from the islands to mainland hospitals. Creating an EM Residency training program is a critical next step to overcoming many of the challenges facing EM provision in Greece today: it would address the shortage of EM-trained providers, decrease the need for costly ground and air transfers, and improve the quality of emergency care throughout Greece.

Investigating Energy Renovation of Multi-Owner Buildings and Real Estate Market Issues in a Degraded Greek Urban Area

States establish ambitious policies and important measures to achieve targets for the energy upgrade of buildings but although some important barriers prevent their implementation in space, they are rather overlooked by research. In this paper, it is argued that extensive multi-ownership (MO) and weak performance of the real estate market in degraded urban areas impede the mass energy retrofitting of multi-owner buildings (MOBs), which are an important part of the urban building stock A deprived area of central Athens (Greece) that serves as a case study. With a pluridisciplinary approach based on extensive field surveys, cadastral data analysis and cases of energy renovation of buildings through a public–private partnership financing scheme as well as ways to overcome the MO issue were explored, according to the provisions of the Greek legal framework. The integrated urban regeneration approach is promoted as a means to encounter the MO issue and enhance the functioning of the real estate market by the generation of surplus values that will render the energy retrofitting of buildings more attractive to investors and thus achieve the deep renovation of MOBs towards the sustainability of the urban environment. This paper ultimately advocates the integration of energy planning with spatial planning.

Patients’ Perceptions of Sound and Noise Dimensions in the Dental Clinic Soundscape

In the area of dental healthcare services, where patients and professionals deal with multiple auditory stimuli, this cross-sectional study reports on the various dynamics of sound preferences, noise obstacles, and the profound impact of music on anxiety reduction within dental office settings. The sample comprises 134 dental patients, primarily females (56.7%), with varying age groups, education levels, and therapy durations in the university clinics of the Department of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and four private dental offices at the metropolitan area of Athens, Greece. Notably, 92.5% of the participants reported no hearing loss, and 56.7% exhibited some level of noise sensitivity. This study reveals a moderate to good perceived health status (M = 3.84, SD = 0.95) among participants, with low perceived noise disturbance in university dental clinics. Preferences for instrumental music, foreign pop, and classical music are prominent during waiting times. Potential irritations include impersonal treatment (44%) and staff behavior (41.8%). Correlations and predictors indicate associations between age, gender, educational status, music preferences, and noise disturbances. Findings aim to optimize eco-soundscapes in dental offices, contributing to enhanced patient well-being. The research underscores the potential of music interventions to alleviate dental anxiety and improve the overall dental experience and quality care.

Trends of the Global Burden of Disease Linked to Ground-Level Ozone Pollution: A 30-Year Analysis for the Greater Athens Area, Greece

The Greater Athens Area (GAA), situated in the southern part of the European continent (in Greece), has a Mediterranean climate characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. As a result of increased sunshine and high temperatures, exceedances in ozone concentrations are often recorded during the hot period. In the present study, the monthly as well as daily variations of O3 concentrations at thirteen stations in the GAA were investigated for the period 1987–2019. Moreover, the impact of O3 on the people’s health in Greece was examined by using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study with the socio-economic conditions of the country. Ozone concentrations were found to be particularly high during the summer months, especially in suburban stations. Values ranged from 65 μg/m3 to 90 μg/m3 during the night, in contrast to urban areas and remain high for several hours. Comparing estimates from GBD, it was found that exposure to ozone can impair respiratory function, leading to death or susceptibility to respiratory diseases that reduce quality of life, especially for people over 55 years of age. Finally, since 2009, when the economic crisis began in Greece, an upward trend was observed for deaths and disability adjusted life years.

Exposure to PM2.5 on Public Transport: Guidance for Field Measurements with Low-Cost Sensors

Air pollution is one of the most important problems in big cities, resulting in adverse health effects. The aim of the present study was to characterize the personal exposure to indoor and outdoor pollution in the Greater Athens Area in Greece by taking measurements during a journey from suburban to mixed industrial–urban areas, encompassing walking, waiting, bus travel, and metro travel at various depths. For this reason, low-cost (LC) sensors were used, and the inhaled dose of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in different age groups of passengers was calculated. Specific bus routes and the Athens metro network were monitored throughout different hours of the day. Then, the average particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure for a metro passenger was calculated and evaluated. By considering the ventilation rate of a passenger, an estimation of the total PM2.5 inhaled dose for males and females as well as for different age groups was made. The results showed that the highest PM2.5 concentrations were observed inside the wagons with significant increases during rush hours or after rush hours. Furthermore, there should be a concern regarding older individuals using the subway network in Athens during rush hours and in general for sensitive groups (people with asthma, respiratory and cardiovascular problems, etc.).

Examining the impact of bicycle-oriented multimodality on accessibility and transport equity in the metropolitan area of Athens, Greece

ABSTRACT Bicycle-oriented multimodality (cycling and fixed-route public transport) could be considered as an efficient tool in developing a sustainable transport system offering adequate transport services to everyone. This study, therefore, explores whether multimodality can support transport equity in a metropolitan urban environment. To this end, a combinatorial approach is adopted; specifically, spatial accessibility as well as horizontal and vertical equity measures related to four scenarios illustrating different transport futures are estimated. These scenarios are the following: (a) existing fixed-route public transport, (b) addition of a new metro line, (c) existing fixed-route public transport and addition of a new metropolitan cycling network, and (d) both a new metro line and a metropolitan cycling network. This method is applied to the Athens Metropolitan Area (AMA) in Greece which comprises a challenging example of a car-oriented metropolis. The main results indicate that bicycle-oriented multimodality influences accessibility positively; however, when it comes to equity (both horizontal and vertical), results require further analysis. Fully multimodal scenarios (Scenario 3) do not lead to better horizontal equity, or they do not support low-income groups; on the contrary, balanced multimodality solutions (Scenario 2) illustrated the most equitable conditions. These findings are indeed surprising, indicating to researchers and practitioners that urban and transport planning should embrace holistic ways to achieve transport equity.

The Nature-Based Solutions and climate change scenarios toward flood risk management in the greater Athens area—Greece

AbstractThis research paper focuses on implementing two Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in the Sarantapotamos river basin upstream of Magoula settlement, evaluating their effectiveness through flood hydrograph calculations before and after NBS, and under future climate scenarios, encompassing lower, mean, and upper conditions representing ± 95%. The study area covers an area of 226 km2 in Attica, Greece, susceptible to extreme flood events. The research contributes to NBS knowledge, emphasizing flood resilience and protecting settlements downstream. Land cover change and retention ponds, applied individually and combined, serve as NBS approaches. Flood hydrographs are calculated using the time–area (TA) diagram method in a geographic information system (GIS) with the Hydrological Engineering Center’s Hydrological Modeling System (HEC-HMS). Results demonstrate NBS effectiveness in current climate conditions, reducing peak discharge by 9.3% and 28% for land cover change and retention ponds, respectively. The combined NBS achieves a 40.5% peak discharge reduction and a significant 15.7% total flood volume decrease. Under climate change scenarios, impacts on design precipitation and flood hydrographs vary. The upper climate change scenario exhibits a 3348% increase in peak discharge and a 600% rise in total flood volume, while the lower scenario sees a 44.6% reduction in total flood volume. In the mean climate change scenario, land cover change and retention ponds reduce peak discharge by 9.73% and 23.11% and total flood volume by 9.25% and 2.17%, respectively. In conclusion, retention ponds show substantial peak discharge reduction, while land cover changes extend the time to peak, emphasizing their potential in flood risk management.

Sport and Nationalism in Celebrations of Mega Events. Dancing victory with Zorba the Greek

The present paper explores the negotiation of national identity in contemporary mega sporting events. The study focuses on certain performances of Greekness through Zorba’s dance in national sporting victories, especially in basketball. The attention shifts onto wider nationalisation processes by highlighting the socio-political relations of sport. The fieldwork took place in the broader area of Athens (Attica) and Patras (Peloponnese), between September 2020 and September 2022. It was based on Visual Anthropology methods, working with interlocutors who are engaged with sports in various ways. Through endearing habits, athletes and fans can constitute different embodied performances inside and outside the stadiums, where sport as a performative place of collectivity and solidarity invites a continuous embodied creative action highlighting how complex, versatile, and political it can be.

Issues of Urban Conservation and Collective Memory. The Case of the Asia Minor Post-refugee Urban Neighbourhood Germanika at Nikea, Piraeus, Greece.

The paper presents the main findings of a research conducted at an Asia Minor post-refugee urban neighborhood located at the Greater Piraeus Region within the metropolitan area of Athens. The research took place from October 2022 to January 2023. The main findings of the research outline the issue of urban conservation in terms of urban collective memory. The paper explores the contemporary physiognomy of an urban Asia Minor refugee settlement that comes up against dereliction, uncontrolled building activity 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 of the exact location of the remaining refugee houses as well as documentation through original drawings of typical housing units in the area. The aim of the paper is to put in the forefront the issue of declaration in terms of collective memory in cases where the socio-cultural significance counterweights the architectural value of the buildings.

Impact of peri-urban forest fires on air quality and aerosol optical and chemical properties: The case of the August 2021 wildfires in Athens, Greece

Wildfires occurring near urban areas are known to have exceedingly detrimental impacts on the environment, air quality, economy and human health. In this framework, this study examines the effects of peri-urban forest fires on atmospheric chemical composition, and aerosol physical-optical properties in Athens, Greece, during August 2021. Satellite imagery and air mass trajectories showed advection of intense smoke plumes over Athens from three forest fires persisting for 10 days in the greater Athens area and in Central Greece (Euboea). During August 1–20, 2021, daily PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 8.9 to 78.7 μg m−3, and were associated with high OC levels (2.3–27.8 μg m−3), while BC and BCbb concentrations on smoke-impacted days were 2.6 μg m−3 and 1.0 μg m−3, respectively (2–3 times higher than August mean levels). During the peak of biomass burning (BB) smoke transport over Athens, daily-average scattering and absorption coefficients at short wavelengths maximized at 313 Mm−1 and 171 Mm−1, respectively. There was also a large impact of ambient BrC (brown carbon) absorption (60 Mm−1), while the OC/EC ratio exhibited characteristically low values (3–4), linked to flaming combustion (modified combustion efficiency of 0.97–0.99). The absorption Ångström exponent (1.38) and single scattering albedo (0.74) indicated highly absorbing BB aerosol, deviating from the normal summer patterns. BB-tracers like nssK+ displayed strong correlations with OC, EC and BC concentrations, as well as with scattering and absorption coefficients. However, forest fires drastically modified the levels of additional chemical species, with enhancements observed for Ca2+, NO3−, Cl−, and for organic aerosol (OA) components such as BBOA and less-oxidized oxygenated OA (LO-OOA). Since under climate change conditions, the Mediterranean is anticipated to experience a dramatic rise in the frequency and intensity of wildfires, the results highlight the necessity for prevention and mitigation policies to safeguard urban air quality.

Changes of trans and saturated fatty acid content in savory baked goods from 2015 to 2021 and their effect on consumers’ intake using substitution models: A study conducted in Greece

BackgroundIn Greece, nearly a third of savory baked goods (SBGs) exceeded the limit of 2 g of nonruminant or industrial trans fatty acids (i-TFA) per 100 g fat in 2015. The impact of the Commission Regulation (European Union) 2019/649 on exposure to trans fatty acids (TFA), i-TFA, and saturated fatty acid (SFA) from SBGs has not been previously evaluated. ObjectivesThe study aimed to explore fatty acid reformulation of SBG products and assess differences in TFA, i-TFA, and SFA intakes using a sample of Greek SBG consumers from a nationally representative survey. MethodsIn 2021, 140 samples of SBGs were collected in the greater metropolitan area of Athens, and their fat profile and content were compared to those from 2015. Based on these measurements, food consumption substitution models were employed to examine TFA and SFA intake differences, and the percent contribution from SBG among consumers was calculated (N = 1008). Nutrient densities were calculated by adjusting all fat intakes by individual mean energy intake (percentage of daily total energy intake). ResultsThe 2% i-TFA legislative limit/100 g of fat in measured SBGs was exceeded by 11.4% in 2021 compared to 31.1% in 2015 (19.7% increase in compliance). Median i-TFA and TFA intakes from SBGs were reduced from 0.05 (0.01, 0.12)% and 0.13 (0.03, 0.27)% in 2015 to 0.03 (0.01, 0.09) and 0.06 (0.03, 0.13)% in 2021, respectively. In terms of SFA, a mean increase/100 g was calculated, resulting in an increased intake in 2021 compared to 2015 [5.18% (2.78, 8.37) and 3.55 (1.99, 5.73), respectively]. ConclusionsDespite the reductions seen in i-TFA content of SBGs, food product reformulation efforts in Greece should focus not only on TFA content but also on SFA reduction to improve public health.

Associations between meat type consumption pattern and incident cardiovascular disease: The ATTICA epidemiological cohort study (2002−2022)

BackgroundMeat consumption has shown from detrimental to beneficial effects against cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence, mainly depending on the type of meat studied (i.e., red/white, processed/unprocessed) and quantity consumed. ObjectiveTo examine the associations between meat type consumption patterns and incident CVD among apparently healthy adults. DesignATTICA study was conducted in the greater metropolitan Athens area, Greece, during 2001–2002 studying adults free-of-CVD at baseline. Twenty-year follow-up was performed in n = 1988 participants (n = 718 incident cases). Meat consumption during the follow-up period was categorized as: never/rare meat consumption (i.e., <1 time/week), mostly red meat (i.e., compared to other types of meat or processed meat), mostly white meat, and mostly processed meat products (e.g., bacon, sausage). ResultsApproximately 38% of the participants reported rare or no consumption of any type of meat, 31% consumed mostly red meat, 19% mostly white meat and the remainder 12% mostly processed meat. In multivariate analysis, compared to never/rarely consuming any type of meat, consuming mostly processed meat [HR: 2.89, 95%CI: 1.05, 7.89], but not red meat [HR: 1.22, 95%CI: 0.81, 1.82], was positively associated with incident CVD during 20 years of follow-up, while consuming mostly white meat was inversely associated with incident CVD [HR: 0.35, 95%CI: 0.17, 0.71]. ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that the type of meat, irrespective of the frequency of consumption, plays a role in the risk of developing CVD. In clinical practice, emphasis should be placed on avoiding processed meat and replacing it with white unprocessed meat.

Perceptions of urban green infrastructure in two contrasting municipalities of the metropolitan area of Athens, Greece

The primary goal of urban parks and green spaces is to provide ecosystem services, not only for the visitors that use them but also for the entire urban population. Athens metropolitan area has a limited number of green spaces. The present paper uses a structured questionnaire to record residents' views in two socioeconomically contrasting municipalities of Athens concerning the urban green infrastructure of their municipality. More specifically, the residents were asked to evaluate the parks and green spaces regarding their amount and size, suitable design, safety for children, the variety and care of plants, and the facilities for people with disabilities. They were also asked to record problems such as noise pollution, a mess from stray animals or pets, unpleasant odors, lack of information, signposting, and other facilities. The resident's satisfaction regarding the local authorities and their contribution towards improving parks and green spaces were also evaluated. Additionally, the residents were asked for satisfaction concerning their well-being and their intention to give more money to buy a house with a view to green space.

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Planning and Implementation: Challenges and Lessons Learned

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is an innovative mobility service that aims to redesign the future of urban mobility by integrating multi-modal transportation and app-based technologies to enable seamless urban mobility. While MaaS pilot demonstrations and schemes implementation have taken place in different cities at a global level, and relevant studies focus on the MaaS barriers and users’ characteristics, the planning process for implementing MaaS is rarely presented. This paper summarizes the services to be integrated into the MaaS Athens’ demo site in Greece and describes the planning process that was followed to showcase the demo. The demo site is located within the urban area of Athens, including a public transport operator, a bike-sharing service, a taxi operator, and a municipality public transport operator. The demonstration runs developments in a real corridor that has the potential to prepare the MaaS eco-system deployment and market uptake. Three travel cases are planned: (1) Multimodal work trip; (2) MaaS for tourists; and (3) Interurban/urban interfaces, for work and shopping/leisure trips. The user journeys are defined in detail and the main information for each user journey is presented. The study concludes with challenges that were faced during the demo planning and recommendations for achieving the MaaS goals.

Exploring microplastic pollution in a Mediterranean river: The role of introduced species as bioindicators

Studies of plastic contamination in freshwater ecosystems and their biota remain scarce, despite the fact that the vast majority of plastic waste initially passes through lotic ecosystems. Biomonitoring provides valuable information regarding plastic pollution and microplastic threats to biota and human health. The aim of this study was to explore the potential use of a non-indigenous fish species as a bioindicator of microplastic pollution in an Eastern Mediterranean River. Our study area is located in a heavily modified and vastly impacted urban river which flows through the largest part of the Metropolitan area of Athens, Greece. We used an introduced chub species (Squalius vardarensis) to assess microplastic ingestion in the river. The results indicated moderate occurrence and abundance of microplastics in the fish gastrointestinal tracts; one-third of specimens (35%) contained microplastics, although the average number of microplastics per specimen was relatively low (1.7 ± 0.2). Overall, the abundance of microplastics in the water confirmed the moderate level of microplastics contamination in our study area. The major polymer types of microplastics identified by FT-IR analysis were: polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polypropylene (PP); reflecting the fragmentation of larger litter from industrial packaging and/or household goods. Surface runoff of the urban environment, via motorways and major road networks, could be the contributing factor to the reported microplastics. Our results suggest that generalist's non-indigenous species such as chubs could be used as bioindicators of microplastics in inland waters. Introduced fishes can be a feasible, nondestructive, and cost-effective option for the assessment of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems, while freshwater chubs' high abundance and omnipresence in European rivers further serve this scope. However, it is worth noting that the suitability of any particular species as a bioindicator of microplastics may depend on a variety of factors, including their feeding behavior, habitat, and exposure to microplastics in their environment.