ROOTS OF ELEONAS

Welcome to Eleonas (Ελαιώνας), a historic gem named for its once-vast expanses of olive trees. While the groves have diminished over time, their legacy still echoes through the landscape. Nestled within this area are five main municipalities, with our spotlight shining on the Eleonas municipality of Athens. Our journey will delve into how we can enrich the cultural heritage of this cherished locale, emphasizing the vital role of public participation and the involvement of residents and stakeholders. Join us as we explore the vibrant blend of history and community that defines Eleonas.

Our team hails from all corners of the globe, united by a shared excitement to bring our insights to you.

• István Valánszki: Ph.D., associate professor, head of Department of Landscape protection and reclamation, MATE, Hungary. Specialized in PPGIS, tourism and recreation, landscape planning, and cultural ecosystem services.
• Tayana Passos Rosa: A Ph.D. Candidate at MATE, Hungary. Came from Brazil to give insights regarding learning by design and participatory processes.
• Luigi Bartolomei: Ph.D. in Architectural Composition (2008) at the University of Bologna, Italy. Well-known for his research regarding sacred architecture, history of sacred architecture, and participatory landscape design.

• Ansam Bzour: A Ph.D. Candidate at MATE, Hungary. specializing in landscape architecture with a focus on river cultures as political borders. Recognized for expertise in Participatory planning and city cultures through abstract art.
• Lucie Geoffroy: Double-degree student in landscape architecture at the HSWT in Freising, Germany (Bachelor) and at L'Institut Agro Rennes-Angers in Angers, France (Diplôme d'Ingénieur). Experienced in democratic processes through the organisation of the 23th Expo Flo as the president of the association.
• Laura Crocker: Bachelor student of Landscape Architecture and Plant Biology at the University of Maryland, USA.
• Arianna Ghinelli: student in the single-cycle degree program in Building Engineering and Architecture at UNIBO, Italy. Studying sustainable new materials and their performance.
• Marie-Luise Schega: Student of landscape architecture at HSWT in Freising, Germany with experience across the humanities, social enterprise development and numerous creative collaborations.
• Konstantina Panagiota Panagaki: Agronomist specialized in floriculture and landscape architecture. Currently studying for my master's degree in landscape architecture at the Agricultural University of Athens.
• Nina Ried: Third year landscape architecture student with an interest in meeting people and practical interventions to improve landscapes.
• Christina Gkoutzani: Landscape architecture student at the Agricultural University of Athens.
• Aniela Lipinska: Engineer in landscape architecture from Poland. Graduated at the Polytechnic of Bydgoszcz and specialized in architecture of landscape objects. Passionate about natural environment and its protection.

To truly appreciate and expand our understanding of the cultural heritage of our study area, we kicked off our project by identifying the key aspects and elements that define it. This focus helps us delve deeper into the rich history and significance of the site, ensuring our work highlights its cultural importance. The process of defining the main aspects of our topic was achieved through brainstorming as a group combined with locals.

The first crucial element in understanding the cultural heritage of the area is the people who inhabit it. By engaging with local users and stakeholders, we can reflect on the cultural fabric through their experiences, examining their sense of local identity and attachment to the place. This approach allows us to gain valuable insights into the community's unique cultural heritage.

Cultural heritage encompasses not just the people, but also the diverse activities they've engaged in over time. This leads us to our second aspect: the blend of past and present activities that weave together the ongoing narrative of the area. Exploring these activities helps us understand the rich tapestry of cultural heritage that defines this community. This aspect can be tested by understanding the precedent case studies and illustrating modern contemporary culture.

While stakeholders and their activities are vital, city planning is equally crucial, especially in terms of connectivity, accessibility, and integrated cultural zones. Our final focus area includes urban green and blue infrastructure, road networks, transportation, and public services. To achieve this, we identify conflict zones, analyze the historical layers and narratives, define borders and edges, and understand how movement through the city is structured and experienced. This comprehensive approach helps us create a cohesive and well-connected urban environment that is more attached and culturally focused.

Throughout our journey to understand and define the cultural heritage of the area, we've consistently focused on engaging with the community. We've delved into the network of cultural public spaces, highlighting the values and conflicts within our three key aspects. By prioritizing public participation, we have gained a richer, more comprehensive view of the area's cultural landscape.

To start targeting our goals. It was the first approach to achieving a collaborative vision for our project. We used the method of “How might we?”. “How might we?” is a method that helps us understand design problems by translating them into actionable questions. While implementing this activity, we realised that most of our questions and goal directions were aligned.

This step in our journey helps us understand the area's cultural heritage, involving a lively brainstorming session centered around the question, "How might we?". This approach allowed us to focus our thinking on exploring creative ways to enhance the cultural aspects and focusing our efforts on specific goals. Through these discussions, we opened up new possibilities and directions for our project.

The main questions that popped up throughout the process are as follows:

1. How might we help shape the community while working with the local heritage?
2. How might we deal with the conflicts and enrich the cultural values based on the demands of the local community?
3. How might we preserve the cultural heritage aligned with the climate crisis?
4. How might we co-create better connections and liveability with and for cultural heritage?
5. How might we integrate cultural heritage into locals’ lives?
6. How might we respect cultural and natural heritage while making this area more inclusive for all users?
7. How might we make heritage (both cultural and natural) and different social groups benefit together in this area?
8. How might we understand the influence of the different landscape images on the local identity?
9. How might we ensure inclusion and local participation from an external point of view?
10. How might we create a space to tell the story of the local community from both the past and present?

After a lively brainstorming session about answering the “How might we?” question, we were treated to a presentation by a community representative. Their insights helped crystallise the main keywords of our approach, drawing from our collective understanding of the area and the collaborative "how might we" session. It was a pivotal moment that set the stage for our future endeavours, igniting our passion to delve deeper into the project.

Some collective keywords have started to appear after this stage. The focus was mainly directed towards a more inclusive approach, directed towards enhancing natural and cultural heritage, co-creating connections, and enriching liveability and social qualities.

In this section, we'll dive into the next crucial step of our journey, designed to sharpen our focus on specific, well-directed goals. We were divided into three main groups and visited three distinct geographic locations to gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire study area.

The three main study areas are as follows:

• Markoni - Residential neighborhood / Plifa
• Elaionas - Industrial zone / Water stream
• Keramikos - Cultural and industrial zone

Before heading out, we created a question board, gathering various questions from our team for the stakeholders at each site. This included locals living or working there and the guides leading our tours. Our questions centred on cultural heritage, particularly the themes of solidarity and stewardship.

The questions were about:

1. Their memories, opinions on good and bad feelings, areas of importance, and the locals' observations
2. Their role and power in shaping the place
3. The main places they feel attached or connected to their vision of the area in 10 years, whether on a neighborhood scale or a city scale
4. Their reflection on changes through history (people, places, etc.)
5. Their opinion on how the area fits in the larger context
6. Their input on which elements they consider part of the cultural heritage

After gathering information through brainstorming sessions, question boards, and field trips, we came together to share our ideas and impressions. By considering the local needs and our central theme—the importance of cultural heritage—we refined our vision into five specific, well-directed goals:

1. To enhance the attachment between people and the place by answering their needs (E.g. sense of security)
2. To have the creek as an element of heritage and transversal connectivity
3. To nourish the public green network by adding new points, maintaining what exists, and enhancing connectivity
4. To celebrate and showcase the cultural gems of the area
5. To promote education on the local cultural values to elevate sustainability stewardship

As we outlined our main goals, we collected keywords from our discussions as highlighted in the previous text, and moved to the next stage. Here, we aimed to make our focus more site-specific and narrowed it down, ensuring our objectives were finely tuned to the unique aspects of the area.

The main objectives are:

• Purple goal : Reusing industrial buildings for local production and answering the local needs
• Green goal : Creating a blue/green network that provides pedestrian and bicycle- friendly routes
• Pink goal : Proposing a unified element to educate about the cultural heritage and answering the needs of the locals (Cultural Pereptero)

To foster democracy and public participation in our project, we created a playful, interactive map. This tool allowed stakeholders to engage in decision-making, contributing to the planning of our proposal and the design of new elements. It was a fun and effective way to incorporate their input and enhance the landscape together.

Our definition of the interactive map is: An interactive map is a dynamic, manual tool that allows stakeholders to engage with geographic data in a hands-on manner. Unlike static maps, interactive maps enable users to point to different areas and often include features such as physical elements that can be added or removed. This interactivity makes it a powerful tool for visualising complex information, gathering user input, and facilitating decision-making processes. In the context of our project, the interactive map served as a platform for stakeholders to participate in planning and design decisions, enhancing the collaborative nature of our work.

The process began by asking several questions to our stakeholders based on their role in the local community. Our stakeholders were part of a role-playing activity done by another group familiar with the area where some of them played roles in being members of the society (Cafeteria owner, student, worker, etc).

Based on that, we formed our questions regarding our vision where we used specific physical tools that are movable and allowed ourstakeholders to change their locations, add new ones (functions, green areas, cultural elements, etc), or take out some of them.

Based on the stakeholder participation methods, here is

What we learned:

1. The importance of engaging diverse perspectives to improve the relevance and effectiveness of new ideas.
2. This method helps to increase the transparency and trust between decision-makers and the public.
3. Orient the focus into the more narrowed down and specific direction that might be not visible in the early phases of the project.

What to avoid:

1. Excluding stakeholders, ignoring their input, and avoiding following up.
2. Dominating the discussion or overloading them with information.
3. Underestimating time requirements by rushing the participation process.
4. Lack of clarity and communication by failing to set boundaries or neglecting cultural sensitivity.

We envision Eleonas is a thriving neighbourhood that celebrates, enjoys and cares for all aspects of its cultural heritage.

What does that mean? Eleonas and its cultural heritage:

• is well connected for all users
• is safe and accessible (for example, in regards to heat and traffic)
• meets the daily needs of its different inhabitants and visitors
• offers a variety of activities in public spaces
• is a place of belonging that people want to care for

What are ideas to realise this vision? To realise our vision for Eleonas, we proposed three main ideas that we tested with our stakeholders (and will continue to do so in the future).

1. Periptero are small kiosks selling anything from tobacco, snacks, candy, drinks, newspapers to phone cards. This staple of Greek culture inspired our “Cultural Periptero”, a kiosk that adapts to whatever the neighbourhood needs: a place to spend time with friends, to get free water, to play a game, sit in the shade etc. - and to easily access information about the cultural gems of their neighbourhood!
2. With our green and blue pathways we create a network of routes that cyclists, pedestrians, cats and anyone outside a car can safely travel through. By caring for the rivers health, bringing it to the surface and adding heat-resilient plantings locals and visitors can comfortably enjoy the cultural sites of Eleanor.
3. We will reuse abandoned industrial buildings to revive the neighbourhood while keeping its historical character of production alive. These buildings and their surroundings will house art and craft enterprises, a museum of the local industrial history and many cultural events.

We presented our story map as our output to the other OLA groups at the end of this intensive workshop week. We organised it as if we were an association called Roots of Eleonas and as if the audience were stakeholders in planning the future of Eleonas. At the end we collected one word that would represent the cultural heritage of Eleonas for each member of the audience as leaves from a symbolic olive tree.