The citys green necklace

Public spaces with cultural value

Sustainable integration of a historical monument into the urban fabric and city life
International Young Planning Professionals Award (YPPA), 2014 abstract submission
Several European cities have a long and important
history, traces of which are present within the
modern urban fabric, creating layers of time and
claiming to define the experience and perception
that users, citizens or visitors, have of the places that
accommodate them. As these elements are parts of
a citys history, their examination unfolds the cultural
and the urban heritage of the places. While in many
cases they outline the form of the built environment,
urban heritage elements are also known to have been
jeopardized by the constant development, as they
have often been in conflict with concurrent needs or
policies.

At the dawn of the 21st century, almost 400 years after

it was built, the magnificent structure, rare example
of the Venetian fortification architecture of the time,
seems like its losing ground to the cafeterias, bars
and shops as the citys symbol. However, it is precisely
today that the city needs to look back at its past and
try to revive all the things that once made it great,
recover hidden potential and use it to emerge from
the crisis as a city of tomorrow, with international
appeal and impact. The overall development strategy
for the city cant be comprehensive enough unless it
takes into account the Venetian walls and integrates
them in the urban fabric and everyday life.

Such cases are easily explained by terms of real estate

or other technical aspects and more often than not
they are justified in city councils as necessary
actions towards the direction of development. It
is not hard to imagine for example that arguing for
the demolition of a three-storey building, which had
been constructed in 1591 in the centre of Heraklion,
Crete and survived for over 3,5 centuries before its
last parts were torn down in 1961, was probably
mainly based on the increased land value in and
around the city centre in which it was situated. The
great Fondaco gave its place to indifferent modern
buildings that today house commercial or residential
uses, in a district with possibly some of the highest
land values in Greece. Unfortunately, the example of
Fondaco is not unique in the history of Heraklion. A
considerable number of buildings or other structures
of high cultural value were in whole or partly
devoured by the beast that is modern progress, as the
local authorities failed to see the merits of preserving
these treasures and integrating them in the city grid.

In order to deal with social, environmental and

unfortunately also financial impediments that the
city is currently faced with, the proposal for the
regeneration of the linear park of the Venetian walls
seeks to deploy the tools of urban sustainability and
puts its principles to the test. The goal is not simply to
re-create a green space, although that alone would
be a perfectly justifiable target, given the lack of
designated green public areas in the city. The situation
is rendered much worse under the comparison with
some north European cities like Copenhagen (DK),
Malm or Lund (SE).

Nevertheless, the project aims to address bigger

issues, ranging from the preservation and restoration
of abandoned or misused building shells with cultural
value to the use of the scarce resource of underground
water for irrigation due to the lack of rainfall during
the summer months, or the enhancement of the
micro-climate. As the proposal ventures to re-brand
the city by highlighting the iconic structure and
convincing people of the merits its use offers, it
The Venetian fortification system or the Venetian Walls needs to resolve existing conflicts emerging also
of Heraklion is an element that dominates the citys from faulty decisions in terms of granted land uses on
history since its founding as well as the urban form and around the site. From the aspect of planning, it is
since its expansion till the precinct. Subsequently, imperative that the friction-causing threats as well as
the city adapted some of its functions to comply the opportunities that can arise from a rational and
with both the limitations set and the opportunities successful regeneration scheme are identified.
offered by the dramatic structure. The site is a cultural
asset with unparalleled importance and at the same The location and the character of the site are such
time has the potential to act as a great public space. that provide with possibilities to generate a broader
Nevertheless, the modern city has moved its activities impact on the city, with urban development that can
to the limited open space thats available in the centre extend beyond the physical limits of the monument
and tends to neglect the jewel that the Venetian walls or its buffer zone and diffuse in the whole urban fabric.
are.
The proposal, through its actions and tools, envisions

to initiate solutions or at least improvements on

issues regarding unemployment, social coherence,
gentrification, urban blight, preservation of cultural
heritage, micro-climate and environment and small
scale entrepreneurship.
By targeting the peoples lifestyle and trying to
provoke changes in an outdated urban mentality,
the Citys Green Necklace is more than a landscaping
project. It is a project that will facelift the character
of the city and open its vast potential for sustainable
development from the inside, engaging some of
the great forces that are latent today, hindered by ill
policies, poor decisions and failed, market-oriented
development models.
Nasos Alexis, May 2014

The citys green necklace

Public spaces with cultural value
Sustainable integration of a historical monument into the urban fabric and city life
International Young Planning Professionals Award (YPPA), 2014 abstract submission
Nasos Alexis, Planning and Regional Development Eng., MSc Sustainable Urban Design

everal European cities have a long and

important history, traces of which are present
within the modern urban fabric, creating layers
of time and claiming to define the experience and
perception that users, citizens or visitors, have of the
places that accommodate them. As these elements
are parts of a citys history, their examination
unfolds the cultural and the urban heritage of the
places. While in many cases they outline the form
of the built environment, urban heritage elements
are also known to have been jeopardized by the
constant development, as they have often been in
conflict with concurrent needs or policies.
Such cases are easily explained by terms of real estate
or other technical aspects and more often than
not they are justified in city councils as necessary
actions towards the direction of development. It is
not hard to imagine for example that arguing for the
demolition of a three-storey building, which had
been constructed in 1591 in the centre of Heraklion,
Crete and survived for over 3,5 centuries before its
last parts were torn down in 1961, was probably
mainly based on the increased land value in and
around the city centre in which it was situated.
The great Fondaco gave its place to indifferent
modern buildings that today house commercial or
residential uses, in a district with possibly some of
the highest land values in Greece. Unfortunately,
the example of Fondaco is not unique in the history
of Heraklion. A considerable number of buildings
or other structures of high cultural value were
in whole or partly devoured by the beast that is
modern progress, as the local authorities failed to
see the merits of preserving these treasures and
integrating them in the city grid.

site is a cultural asset with unparalleled importance

and at the same time has the potential to act as a
great public space. Nevertheless, the modern city
has moved its activities to the limited open space
thats available in the centre and tends to neglect
the jewel that the Venetian walls are.
At the dawn of the 21st century, almost 400 years
after it was built, the magnificent structure, rare
example of the Venetian fortification architecture
of the time, seems like its losing ground to the
cafeterias, bars and shops as the citys symbol.
However, it is precisely today that the city needs to
look back at its past and try to revive all the things
that once made it great, recover hidden potential
and use it to emerge from the crisis as a city of
tomorrow, with international appeal and impact.
The overall development strategy for the city cant
be comprehensive enough unless it takes into
account the Venetian walls and integrates them in
the urban fabric and everyday life.
In order to deal with social, environmental and
unfortunately also financial impediments that the
city is currently faced with, the proposal for the
regeneration of the linear park of the Venetian walls
seeks to deploy the tools of urban sustainability
and puts its principles to the test. The goal is not
simply to re-create a green space, although that
alone would be a perfectly justifiable target, given
the lack of designated green public areas in the city.
The situation is rendered much worse under the
comparison with some north European cities like
Copenhagen (DK), Malm or Lund (SE).

Nevertheless, the project aims to address bigger

issues, ranging from the preservation and
restoration of abandoned or misused building shells
The Venetian fortification system or the Venetian with cultural value to the use of the scarce resource
Walls of Heraklion is an element that dominates of underground water for irrigation due to the
the citys history since its founding as well as the lack of rainfall during the summer months, or the
urban form since its expansion till the precinct. enhancement of the micro-climate. As the proposal
Subsequently, the city adapted some of its functions ventures to re-brand the city by highlighting the
to comply with both the limitations set and the iconic structure and convincing people of the merits
opportunities offered by the dramatic structure. The its use offers, it needs to resolve existing conflicts

emerging also from faulty decisions in terms of

granted land uses on and around the site. From the
aspect of planning, it is imperative that the frictioncausing threats as well as the opportunities that can
arise from a rational and successful regeneration
scheme are identified.
The location and the character of the site are such
that provide with possibilities to generate a broader
impact on the city, with urban development
that can extend beyond the physical limits of the
monument or its buffer zone and diffuse in the
whole urban fabric. The proposal, through its actions
and tools, envisions to initiate solutions or at least
improvements on issues regarding unemployment,
social coherence, gentrification, urban blight,
preservation of cultural heritage, micro-climate and
environment and small scale entrepreneurship.
By targeting the peoples lifestyle and trying to
provoke changes in an outdated urban mentality,
the Citys Green Necklace is more than a landscaping
project. It is a project that will facelift the character
of the city and open its vast potential for sustainable
development from the inside, engaging some of
the great forces that are latent today, hindered by ill
policies, poor decisions and failed, market-oriented
development models.
Nasos Alexis, May 2014