The new look of the lower part of Syntagma Square brings important issues back to public discussion. One is the fragmented nature of urban planning, another is the presence or absence of a more general focus, and a third may be the choice of materials as well as public aesthetics. Since we are talking about an old study, “updated” in a wooden bureaucratic language, there is no application of new ideas in this case. But there is a modern approach to the main and chronic problems of the city.

These questions are related to how we can walk around the city, with urban greenery, with the use of public space by private individuals, with the water element, and with respect to some traffic rules for two-wheeled vehicles. All these questions, the new image of the lower Syntagma Square, brings them back to the city’s agenda, and directly and convincingly.

Let’s assume that the project is not finished yet. It is clear that the delay in its delivery was spectacular and remains inexcusable (despite the explanations provided but not substantiated). Supposing, however, that the work was now intended to be used, and that indeed the space had been opened up, that was an unresolved issue. What is more impressive is that for over 20 years the underside of the square has had such dirty and worn slabs, despite having been removed to apply updated research from the municipality’s drawers.

Least. Hope the trees survive. We wish there were more of them. Athens needs shade. And he needs shade from trees or climbing plants, not awnings. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that the iron legs that end the pergolas (why were they needed?) were not surrounded by plantable space, but nailed to the off-white pavement of the square. Until the trees grow, the feel of the area at this point is an exaggeration in the use of hard surfaces. White and gray, I would like brown, green, terracotta, warm materials. Let’s also agree that research cannot satisfy personal tastes, but must serve common sense, public safety, and the public interest.

The pavilions built on the square are translucent huts, ready to seal the space with their function. Kiosks are a different story, in Athens in general, in Syntagma in particular. The municipality, both now and in the past, is not in a position to manage the stalls and set the standards (let’s look at the stalls in Hauteyi and Omonia). But here, in the case of Syntagma, we have new age pavilions that are just a cover for commercial activities. They have nothing to do with what in Greece we consider a kiosk. And we have in our country an ergonomic miracle of a wooden yellow booth, something like telephone booths in England, a piece of the identity of the urban landscape, and instead of highlighting it, we have erased it and replaced it with these sidewalks “shops”.

And let’s even assume that this is a trend generated by the needs and activities of society. We will see how the square will connect, and how people will rejoice at the freed space. Because this is the central issue. But if the gazebos are filled with tables, and the pavilions are moved apart, and if it is impossible to control the passage of wheelbarrows on snow-white slabs, we will have to redefine the nature of this area. We’re not in a hurry, we’re just worried. Let the municipality refute us by showing what he foresaw.