Books by Nicholas Karachalis
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
The book deals with heritage management in times of crisis, using the city of Athens as a case st... more The book deals with heritage management in times of crisis, using the city of Athens as a case study.
Topics include: the development of tourism in post-war period; contemporary tourism geographies and narratives; ‘alternative’ city tours towards an ‘authorized crisis discourse’; heritage as customer ‘experience’; a semiotic analysis of tourism campaigns; management of living historical churches; and the politics of attraction.
The book draws upon some of the most recent / ongoing international developments – as well as challenges – of heritage management, such as the impact of the economic crisis, the tourist quest of ‘experiences’, and the Nara+20 Document.
Keywords: heritage management – tourism – sustainable development – experiences – crisis – Athens
The book embraces the entire field of cultural management: • cultural identity and refugees • tan... more The book embraces the entire field of cultural management: • cultural identity and refugees • tangible cultural heritage (i.e. archaeological monuments and sites) • intangible cultural heritage • museums • contemporary culture / arts • tourism • city branding and marketing • digital cultural products • development and energy plants in relation to archaeological monuments and sites.
The book:
a) outlines the theoretical background
b) reviews international developments, in terms of best practices and examples; and
c) links the Greek reality to the international developments: i) how the Greek reality can follow international developments; and ii) how the Greek reality can contribute to the evolution/enhancement of international developments.
Cultural management, Local community, and Sustainable Development (in Greek)
Download for free (PDF and/or epub) at: http://repository.kallipos.gr/handle/11419/2394
This book investigates the process of change in European neighbourhoods over the last twenty year... more This book investigates the process of change in European neighbourhoods over the last twenty years, both newly and purposely built neighbourhoods and redeveloped ones. It shows that change takes many varied and complex paths, rather than the mainstream simplified model of general urban evolution. Changing Places collects a series of case studies, and includes various European cities such as Marseille, Rome, Naples, Warsaw, Frankfurt, Athens, Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Ørestad, thus providing a broad European overview.
Since the end of the 80s, new neighbourhoods have been built or modified in all parts of Europe. These changes are commonly either uncritically acknowledged, or heavily condemned, and their complex nature is rarely investigated. The presentation by the news and papers of some of the following case-studies elicits some considerations.
A semi official web-site emphatically insists that in 1993, it was decided to build and develop “a mini metropolis” outside of Copenhagen, in the new Ørestad areas. At the turn of the millennium, a collection of flats, hotels, shopping centres and malls, retail stores, the new IT University and the Southern Campus was built.
The traditional image of Psiri in Athens is one of a “village within the city”, but also one of decay and falsification. The storyline says that artists and cultural groups gathered there in the late 1980s; soon, however, the night-time economy took over. Nowadays, the neighbourhood struggles against the “fake” image of many commercial districts.
Again, Lisbon held an Expo in 1998, reconverting a major industrial area as an extension to the city. A plan was designed, influenced by major intellectuals, to recapture “the past, the present and the future” of the nation on the banks of the Tagus River.
One could go on quoting the enormous amount of expectations and hopes linked with the promotion of new neighbourhoods in Europe in the last years. What do all of these developments of neighbourhoods and redevelopments of places have in common beyond rhetoric, symbolism and storytelling? What if such stories are an integral part of these areas’ material changes?
To paraphrase an oft-quoted Shakespearean line, neighbourhoods and places are “such stuff as dreams are made of”. In present day usage, "the stuff of dreams" refers to wishes and desires: in the poem and in this book, the "stuff of dreams" refers to the materials that create an illusion. Are the new neighbourhoods developed across Europe just an illusion? Not at all, of course: on the contrary, they are the material, often dull, contested, heavy substance that fashions the dream of the 21st century city.
This latter is often sold as an illusion, the appeased image of the renaissance city, hub of creativity, tolerance, growth and competitiveness. These are profound ideological images, deeply rooted inside the common wisdom of urban policies that often misguide urban research. This book looks at some of the new neighbourhoods, either newly and purposely built, or redeveloped from ashes and scratch, to address the nature of the ongoing urban change and of their ideology, where discourse and reality are strictly interwoven and hard to unravel. The following chapters, based upon original pieces of research carried out by a group of researchers from different countries and backgrounds, try to reveal some of the materials that have created such an illusion: political, economical, design materials, and more symbolic “stuff” as well. In doing so, the case studies re-combine the reconstruction of the practices of planning and design, and the critique of the discourses that have paved the way to such practices, in both the technical arena and the public opinion. Eventually, the investigation of matter and dreams, built space and public images, leads to a better understanding of the political constitution of new neighbourhoods.
Papers by Nicholas Karachalis
CABI eBooks, Apr 27, 2024
Routledge eBooks, Jul 21, 2023
Springer proceedings in business and economics, 2023
Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 2021
City officials around the world are in search of a tourism model that will be linked to a positiv... more City officials around the world are in search of a tourism model that will be linked to a positive impact on local communities, create jobs, and boost development in other sectors. Establishing an attractive city brand becomes part of this effort and research shows that the discussion on city branding methods has attracted attention over the last two decades not only on an academic level but also among practitioners (Metaxas 2010; Oliveira 2016). Recently, a shift can be witnessed in city marketing/branding practices toward a more inclusive and less finance-driven approach (Govers 2018; Deffner et al. 2020). Reviving traditional products and craftsmanship fits in this new approach. To which extent can local products influence the visitors to travel to specific destinations? How are traditional products linked to sustainable tourism development in smaller cities? Could the local products and crafts facilitate a positive city brand? Searching for a way to establish an identity that is based on a tradition in a strategy means that both local stakeholder groups and inhabitants should cooperate. This paper aims to explore how cities in Greece are promoting their traditional products and artisanal crafts to determine their contemporary identity. Two case studies have been selected: Soufli with its traditional silk production and Ioannina with its strong silversmithing legacy. A common element of the two cities is that recently two relevant thematic museums were initiated, leading to a discussion among local stakeholders regarding the revival and further promotion of these traditional production processes. The paper presents the results of qualitative and quantitative research; a visitor survey was conducted and interviews with stakeholder representatives/key informants were held in each city. The future perspectives and the sustainability of the process in the two cities are cross-compared and the common elements and differences are discussed critically, drawing on the results of the field research. The results of the interviews and the questionnaires showed that for both cities traditional craftsmanship form a key identity but also a vital element of the local economy. The paths that have been followed are different, but some main common elements have been detected and highlighted.
Η έννοια της Διαχείρισης Τουριστικού Προορισμού αποτελεί αντικείμενο αυξανόμενου ενδιαφέροντος σε... more Η έννοια της Διαχείρισης Τουριστικού Προορισμού αποτελεί αντικείμενο αυξανόμενου ενδιαφέροντος σε μια εποχή που οι προορισμοί ανταγωνίζονται για την παροχή υψηλότερης ποιότητας εμπειρίας στους επισκέπτες και ταυτόχρονης επιτυχημένης διαχείρισης των επιπτώσεων που αυτή συνεπάγεται για τις τοπικές κοινωνίες και το περιβάλλον υποδοχής. Η ίδια η έννοια του «προορισμού» προσδιορίζεται κατά περίπτωση με βάση χωρικά (φυσικά), θεματικά ή διοικητικά όρια, με τους περισσότερους των ορισμών να συνάδουν στον καθορισμό μιας γεωγραφικής έκτασης τουριστικού ενδιαφέροντος που περιλαμβάνει μονάδες φιλοξενίας, αξιοθέατα και λοιπές υπηρεσίες υποστήριξης του τουριστικού προϊόντος, με τρόπο που να του προσδίδουν ένα σαφή και διακριτό σύνολο χαρακτηριστικών ταυτότητας
Paper at the 54ème Colloque de l'ASRDLF se tiendra conjointement avec et le 15ème Conférence de la section Grecque de l’ERSA, 5-7 July, Athens., 2017
Cultural events and festivals are connected to the historical legacy and the cultural activity of... more Cultural events and festivals are connected to the historical legacy and the cultural activity of a city; they can hold a central role in the formation of its identity and fame. The European Capital of Culture is a large scale cultural event that can have major economic and social impacts on a city, not only on its cultural infrastructure and local art scene but also on its image and brand. In October 2017 Elefsina was elected as the ECoC city for 2021; this was considered as a surprise as it had to compete with 13 other strong candidate cities in Greece. The bidding process discussed in the paper, especially in relation to the creation of awareness within a city branding strategy for these cities. The paper reflects on the connection of the ECoC event with the impact measurement regarding elements such as the improvement of cultural infrastructure, the improvement of reputation and the boosting of the local cultural industries. Furthermore, particularly referring to the situation of cities in Greece and the financial difficulties they are facing, the need for effective cultural strategies and possible opportunities and threats of hosting such a large scale cultural event are discussed critically.
Αειχώρος, 2021
Η έννοια της προσωρινής στέγασης ως λύση για εγκαταλειμμένα ή κενά κτήρια είναι ιδιαιτέρως σημαντ... more Η έννοια της προσωρινής στέγασης ως λύση για εγκαταλειμμένα ή κενά κτήρια είναι ιδιαιτέρως σημαντική για πολλές πόλεις – ειδικά σε αυτές όπου η οικονομική κρίση συνδυάστηκε με τη πτώση της ζήτησης για γραφεία και καταστήματα. Στην Ελλάδα τα δεκάδες κενά δημόσια και ιδιωτικά κτήρια στο κέντρο των πόλεων μπορεί να αποτελέσουν μοναδική ευκαιρία εφόσον ενεργοποιηθούν προς όφελος της κοινωνίας των πολιτών. Με δεδομένο ότι η δραστηριοποίηση και επιχειρηματικότητα στον πολιτιστικό τομέα παρουσιάζει ιδιαιτερότητες σε σχέση με άλλους τομείς της οικονομίας, η εφαρμογή αντίστοιχων πολιτικών προσωρινής χρήσης παρουσιάζει σημαντικές προκλήσεις.Στο άρθρο αναλύονται οι στρατηγικές πόλεων της Αθήνας, της Γάνδης, της Βρέμης, της Νάντης, του Άμερσφοορτ, της Οστράβας κ.ά. με στόχο την ενεργοποίηση ανενεργών κτηρίων που ανήκουν στο δημόσιο τομέα με βάση τις προσωρινές χρήσεις. Στην εισήγηση παρουσιάζονται οι διαφορετικές προσεγγίσεις και τα διλήμματα που προκύπτουν συχνά κατά την εφαρμογή, με ιδιαίτερη αναφορά στις χρήσεις που σχετίζονται με την κοινωνική οικονομία και τον πολιτισμό (χώροι παραστάσεων και πρόβας, χώροι συνάντησης, συνεργατικοί χώροι, κλπ) Επίσης εξετάζεται η δυνατότητα παροχής υποστήριξης και κινήτρων για ΜΚΟ, κοινωνικές επιχειρήσεις και πολιτιστικές ομάδες ώστε να χρησιμοποιήσουν κενούς χώρους.
Η έννοια της Διαχείρισης Τουριστικού Προορισμού αποτελεί αντικείμενο αυξανόμενου ενδιαφέροντος σε... more Η έννοια της Διαχείρισης Τουριστικού Προορισμού αποτελεί αντικείμενο αυξανόμενου ενδιαφέροντος σε μια εποχή που οι προορισμοί ανταγωνίζονται για την παροχή υψηλότερης ποιότητας εμπειρίας στους επισκέπτες και ταυτόχρονης επιτυχημένης διαχείρισης των επιπτώσεων που αυτή συνεπάγεται για τις τοπικές κοινωνίες και το περιβάλλον υποδοχής. Η ίδια η έννοια του «προορισμού» προσδιορίζεται κατά περίπτωση με βάση χωρικά (φυσικά), θεματικά ή διοικητικά όρια, με τους περισσότερους των ορισμών να συνάδουν στον καθορισμό μιας γεωγραφικής έκτασης τουριστικού ενδιαφέροντος που περιλαμβάνει μονάδες φιλοξενίας, αξιοθέατα και λοιπές υπηρεσίες υποστήριξης του τουριστικού προϊόντος, με τρόπο που να του προσδίδουν ένα σαφή και διακριτό σύνολο χαρακτηριστικών ταυτότητας
ΑΠΟΚΑΤΑΣΤΑΣΗ ΚΑΙ EΠΑΝΑΧΡΗΣΗ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΩΝ ΚΤΙΡΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΝΟΛΩΝ Ι [ΔΗΜΟΚΡΙΤEΙΟ ΠΑΝEΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΘΡΑΚΗΣ, ΣΧΟ... more ΑΠΟΚΑΤΑΣΤΑΣΗ ΚΑΙ EΠΑΝΑΧΡΗΣΗ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΩΝ ΚΤΙΡΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΝΟΛΩΝ Ι [ΔΗΜΟΚΡΙΤEΙΟ ΠΑΝEΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΘΡΑΚΗΣ, ΣΧΟΛΗ ΠΟΛΥΤEΧΝΙΚΗ, ΤΜΗΜΑ ΑΡΧΙΤEΚΤΟΝΩΝ ΜΗΧΑΝΙΚΩΝ]
ΑΠΟΚΑΤΑΣΤΑΣΗ ΚΑΙ EΠΑΝΑΧΡΗΣΗ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΩΝ ΚΤΙΡΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΝΟΛΩΝ Ι [ΔΗΜΟΚΡΙΤEΙΟ ΠΑΝEΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΘΡΑΚΗΣ, ΣΧΟ... more ΑΠΟΚΑΤΑΣΤΑΣΗ ΚΑΙ EΠΑΝΑΧΡΗΣΗ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΩΝ ΚΤΙΡΙΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΝΟΛΩΝ Ι [ΔΗΜΟΚΡΙΤEΙΟ ΠΑΝEΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟ ΘΡΑΚΗΣ, ΣΧΟΛΗ ΠΟΛΥΤEΧΝΙΚΗ, ΤΜΗΜΑ ΑΡΧΙΤEΚΤΟΝΩΝ ΜΗΧΑΝΙΚΩΝ]
Encyclopedia of Tourism Management and Marketing
Sustainability, 2021
For many cities, abandoned or underused spaces pose a major challenge, but temporary use is being... more For many cities, abandoned or underused spaces pose a major challenge, but temporary use is being manifested as a tool that can offer solutions. So-called “meanwhile spaces” provide opportunities for city officials to create the conditions for the cultural economy to be supported while simultaneously meeting urban regeneration goals and supporting city marketing purposes. In European cities, such as Berlin, Ghent, Nantes, and Bremen, there are examples where “temporary urbanism” is being incorporated into mainstream policy and is forming part of the city’s identity and tourism promotion. Temporary use is discussed in the context of current challenges facing European cities (austerity crisis, unemployment, refugee crisis, lack of affordable housing or office space). In this paper, the focus is on the creative sector. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked discussion on how temporary use can cover a community’s needs. In this contextual framework, the scope was to explore th...
Submitted by Maria Pasxou ([email protected]) on 2016-03-03T08:27:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 13η ΔE.doc... more Submitted by Maria Pasxou ([email protected]) on 2016-03-03T08:27:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 13η ΔE.docx: 1025713 bytes, checksum: f40851daf3785d5d5d6fb04239f73917 (MD5)
Tourism and Hospitality
Although place branding in cross-border (c-b) areas is challenging, various c-b areas with common... more Although place branding in cross-border (c-b) areas is challenging, various c-b areas with common eco-natural and cultural characteristics are popular tourist brands in their own right. The emergence of c-b areas as destinations is not surprising since international borders are often natural formations, which may be popular tourist attractions. Due to historical and political circumstances, the Greek–Albanian c-b area has not experienced tourism development. It bears a weak image, and although individual destinations can be found in both border areas, they do not currently form a single place brand. Thus, place branding that aims to enhance the c-b area’s attractiveness should start with building a single identity by finding common competitive characteristics upon which it can be based. This paper analyzes part of the ‘Culture Plus’ project, which aims to identify significant common eco-natural and cultural resources in the Greek–Albanian c-b area. The resources were documented usin...
Next year (2007) is expected to be a milestone for the regional policy of Greece. For the first t... more Next year (2007) is expected to be a milestone for the regional policy of Greece. For the first time since the EU launched the programmes which are co-funded by the Structural Funds, Greek regions are excluded from the Objective 1 “Convergence†programmes of the 2007-2013 programming period. Two regions, Sterea Ellada and Southern Aegean have been included in the phasing - in group of NUTS II regions which are falling under the new “Regional Competitiveness and Employment†objective since they have exceeded the 75% boundary of the GDP per capita of the EU both in relation with the older 15 and the 25 current member states. Hence, apart from the reduction funding compared to the current period, they are obliged to redefine their developmental priorities and to adjust the programming context according to the new circumstances in line with the Lisbon and Gothenburg objectives. Within this context the preparation calls for the adjustment to the new circumstances and the exploratio...
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Books by Nicholas Karachalis
Topics include: the development of tourism in post-war period; contemporary tourism geographies and narratives; ‘alternative’ city tours towards an ‘authorized crisis discourse’; heritage as customer ‘experience’; a semiotic analysis of tourism campaigns; management of living historical churches; and the politics of attraction.
The book draws upon some of the most recent / ongoing international developments – as well as challenges – of heritage management, such as the impact of the economic crisis, the tourist quest of ‘experiences’, and the Nara+20 Document.
Keywords: heritage management – tourism – sustainable development – experiences – crisis – Athens
The book:
a) outlines the theoretical background
b) reviews international developments, in terms of best practices and examples; and
c) links the Greek reality to the international developments: i) how the Greek reality can follow international developments; and ii) how the Greek reality can contribute to the evolution/enhancement of international developments.
Cultural management, Local community, and Sustainable Development (in Greek)
Download for free (PDF and/or epub) at: http://repository.kallipos.gr/handle/11419/2394
Since the end of the 80s, new neighbourhoods have been built or modified in all parts of Europe. These changes are commonly either uncritically acknowledged, or heavily condemned, and their complex nature is rarely investigated. The presentation by the news and papers of some of the following case-studies elicits some considerations.
A semi official web-site emphatically insists that in 1993, it was decided to build and develop “a mini metropolis” outside of Copenhagen, in the new Ørestad areas. At the turn of the millennium, a collection of flats, hotels, shopping centres and malls, retail stores, the new IT University and the Southern Campus was built.
The traditional image of Psiri in Athens is one of a “village within the city”, but also one of decay and falsification. The storyline says that artists and cultural groups gathered there in the late 1980s; soon, however, the night-time economy took over. Nowadays, the neighbourhood struggles against the “fake” image of many commercial districts.
Again, Lisbon held an Expo in 1998, reconverting a major industrial area as an extension to the city. A plan was designed, influenced by major intellectuals, to recapture “the past, the present and the future” of the nation on the banks of the Tagus River.
One could go on quoting the enormous amount of expectations and hopes linked with the promotion of new neighbourhoods in Europe in the last years. What do all of these developments of neighbourhoods and redevelopments of places have in common beyond rhetoric, symbolism and storytelling? What if such stories are an integral part of these areas’ material changes?
To paraphrase an oft-quoted Shakespearean line, neighbourhoods and places are “such stuff as dreams are made of”. In present day usage, "the stuff of dreams" refers to wishes and desires: in the poem and in this book, the "stuff of dreams" refers to the materials that create an illusion. Are the new neighbourhoods developed across Europe just an illusion? Not at all, of course: on the contrary, they are the material, often dull, contested, heavy substance that fashions the dream of the 21st century city.
This latter is often sold as an illusion, the appeased image of the renaissance city, hub of creativity, tolerance, growth and competitiveness. These are profound ideological images, deeply rooted inside the common wisdom of urban policies that often misguide urban research. This book looks at some of the new neighbourhoods, either newly and purposely built, or redeveloped from ashes and scratch, to address the nature of the ongoing urban change and of their ideology, where discourse and reality are strictly interwoven and hard to unravel. The following chapters, based upon original pieces of research carried out by a group of researchers from different countries and backgrounds, try to reveal some of the materials that have created such an illusion: political, economical, design materials, and more symbolic “stuff” as well. In doing so, the case studies re-combine the reconstruction of the practices of planning and design, and the critique of the discourses that have paved the way to such practices, in both the technical arena and the public opinion. Eventually, the investigation of matter and dreams, built space and public images, leads to a better understanding of the political constitution of new neighbourhoods.
Papers by Nicholas Karachalis
Topics include: the development of tourism in post-war period; contemporary tourism geographies and narratives; ‘alternative’ city tours towards an ‘authorized crisis discourse’; heritage as customer ‘experience’; a semiotic analysis of tourism campaigns; management of living historical churches; and the politics of attraction.
The book draws upon some of the most recent / ongoing international developments – as well as challenges – of heritage management, such as the impact of the economic crisis, the tourist quest of ‘experiences’, and the Nara+20 Document.
Keywords: heritage management – tourism – sustainable development – experiences – crisis – Athens
The book:
a) outlines the theoretical background
b) reviews international developments, in terms of best practices and examples; and
c) links the Greek reality to the international developments: i) how the Greek reality can follow international developments; and ii) how the Greek reality can contribute to the evolution/enhancement of international developments.
Cultural management, Local community, and Sustainable Development (in Greek)
Download for free (PDF and/or epub) at: http://repository.kallipos.gr/handle/11419/2394
Since the end of the 80s, new neighbourhoods have been built or modified in all parts of Europe. These changes are commonly either uncritically acknowledged, or heavily condemned, and their complex nature is rarely investigated. The presentation by the news and papers of some of the following case-studies elicits some considerations.
A semi official web-site emphatically insists that in 1993, it was decided to build and develop “a mini metropolis” outside of Copenhagen, in the new Ørestad areas. At the turn of the millennium, a collection of flats, hotels, shopping centres and malls, retail stores, the new IT University and the Southern Campus was built.
The traditional image of Psiri in Athens is one of a “village within the city”, but also one of decay and falsification. The storyline says that artists and cultural groups gathered there in the late 1980s; soon, however, the night-time economy took over. Nowadays, the neighbourhood struggles against the “fake” image of many commercial districts.
Again, Lisbon held an Expo in 1998, reconverting a major industrial area as an extension to the city. A plan was designed, influenced by major intellectuals, to recapture “the past, the present and the future” of the nation on the banks of the Tagus River.
One could go on quoting the enormous amount of expectations and hopes linked with the promotion of new neighbourhoods in Europe in the last years. What do all of these developments of neighbourhoods and redevelopments of places have in common beyond rhetoric, symbolism and storytelling? What if such stories are an integral part of these areas’ material changes?
To paraphrase an oft-quoted Shakespearean line, neighbourhoods and places are “such stuff as dreams are made of”. In present day usage, "the stuff of dreams" refers to wishes and desires: in the poem and in this book, the "stuff of dreams" refers to the materials that create an illusion. Are the new neighbourhoods developed across Europe just an illusion? Not at all, of course: on the contrary, they are the material, often dull, contested, heavy substance that fashions the dream of the 21st century city.
This latter is often sold as an illusion, the appeased image of the renaissance city, hub of creativity, tolerance, growth and competitiveness. These are profound ideological images, deeply rooted inside the common wisdom of urban policies that often misguide urban research. This book looks at some of the new neighbourhoods, either newly and purposely built, or redeveloped from ashes and scratch, to address the nature of the ongoing urban change and of their ideology, where discourse and reality are strictly interwoven and hard to unravel. The following chapters, based upon original pieces of research carried out by a group of researchers from different countries and backgrounds, try to reveal some of the materials that have created such an illusion: political, economical, design materials, and more symbolic “stuff” as well. In doing so, the case studies re-combine the reconstruction of the practices of planning and design, and the critique of the discourses that have paved the way to such practices, in both the technical arena and the public opinion. Eventually, the investigation of matter and dreams, built space and public images, leads to a better understanding of the political constitution of new neighbourhoods.
Στην Ελλάδα οι περισσότερες προσπάθειες πολιτιστικής στρατηγικής σχεδιάστηκαν εκ των άνω (top down) και όχι από τις διοικήσεις των ΟΤΑ, ωστόσο αυξάνονται οι περιπτώσεις όπου ο σχεδιασμός τοπικών στρατηγικών γίνεται με συμμετοχικές διαδικασίες (bottom up). Οι πρόσφατες προσπάθειες διαμόρφωσης ενός πλαισίου στρατηγικής μάρκετινγκ πόλης για την Κοζάνη και τη Λάρισα βασίστηκαν σε μεγάλο βαθμό σε εργαλεία και διαδικασίες συμμετοχικού σχεδιασμού και ένα σημαντικό τμήμα τους εστιάζει στον πολιτιστικό τομέα και τα ειδικά γεγονότα. Οι έρευνες πραγματοποιήθηκαν από το Εργαστήριο Τουριστικού Σχεδιασμού Έρευνας και Πολιτικής του Τμήματος Μηχανιών Χωροταξία, Πολεοδομίας και Περιφερειακής Ανάπτυξης (ΤΜΧΠΠΑ) του Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλίας (Επιστημονικά Υπεύθυνος: Αλέξιος Δέφνερ) . Και στις δύο πόλεις ο σχεδιασμός της έρευνας μάρκετινγκ πραγματοποιήθηκε σε τρεις φάσεις: 1) η πρώτη φάση περιλάμβανε την εκτεταμένη έρευνα σε πηγές/μελέτες, παρατήρηση και ανάλυση της υπάρχουσας κατάστασης επιλεγμένων τομέων των πόλεων (που κατέληξε σε Ανάλυση SWOT), 2) η δεύτερη φάση αφορούσε την έρευνα με ερωτηματολόγια στους κατοίκους, τους επιχειρηματίες και τους επισκέπτες καθώς και τις δομημένες συνεντεύξεις (σε εκτεταμένες συναντήσεις) με εκπροσώπους φορέων και συλλογικοτήτων των πόλεων με στόχο τη διαμόρφωση της στρατηγικής, και 3) η τρίτη φάση περιλάμβανε τη διαβούλευση (ηλεκτρονική και με τη Μέθοδο GOPP: Goal Oriented Project Planning) καθώς και την τελική διαμόρφωση των πακέτων προώθησης. Με άξονα τα τοπικά ιδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικά και τη δυναμική των πόλεων δημιουργήθηκαν εξειδικευμένα πακέτα προώθησης για κάθε τομέα (επτά στη Λάρισα και πέντε στην Κοζάνη) τα οποία αποτελούν σύντομους και κατανοητούς οδηγούς εφαρμογής – οι αναφορές στον πολιτιστικό τομέα αφορούν περισσότερα από ένα πακέτα σε κάθε πόλη. Στην έρευνα με ερωτηματολόγια συμμετείχαν 529 κάτοικοι στην Κοζάνη και 639 κάτοικοι στη Λάρισα. Αντίστοιχα στην έρευνα επισκεπτών που πραγματοποιήθηκε στα ξενοδοχεία των δύο πόλεων συμμετείχαν 112 και 200 επισκέπτες αντίστοιχα, ενώ ερωτηματολόγια απαντήθηκαν και από 150 και 200 εκπροσώπους επιχειρήσεων σε Κοζάνη και Λάρισα αντίστοιχα. Η ανάλυση των ερωτηματολογίων επιβεβαίωσε τις ερευνητικές υποθέσεις της ομάδας έρευνας για τις κυρίαρχες πολιτιστικές εικόνες, τον πολιτισμό της καθημερινότητας των πόλεων, τις επίσημες και ανεπίσημες ομάδες που παράγουν πολιτιστικές υπηρεσίες, κ,λπ.
Τα κυρίαρχα πολιτιστικά στοιχεία της Κοζάνης (ως σλόγκαν της οποίας προτάθηκε το ‘Δημιουργική πόλη γεμάτη ενέργεια’) τα οποία αναδείχθηκαν στην φάση της ανάλυσης και της έρευνας πεδίου σχετίζονται με τους Φανούς (αποκριάτικα έθιμα), την ιστορία της περιοχής (Αρχαία Αιανή, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας, κ.λπ.) αλλά και την εικόνα της «πόλης του βιβλίου» που έχει διεκδικήσει η πόλη στο πρόσφατο παρελθόν. Άλλα στοιχεία ήταν οι δραστήριοι τοπικοί σύλλογοι, η μακεδονική αρχιτεκτονική και η Λίμνη Πολυφύτου ως πόρος πολιτισμού. Η ταυτότητα της πόλης ως «πόλης βιβλίου» ήταν η βάση της στρατηγικής που είχε αποφασιστεί για την Κοζάνη τη δεκαετία του 1990 στο πλαίσιο του Εθνικού Πολιτιστικού Δικτύου Πόλεων του ΥΠΠΟ και συνδέεται με την ίδρυση του Ινστιτούτου Ανάγνωσης και Βιβλίου. Δεν πέτυχε τον σκοπό της και δεν θεωρήθηκε αντιπροσωπευτική από μεγάλο μέρος των κατοίκων και των εκπροσώπων φορέων. Η «Κοβεντάρειος Βιβλιοθήκη», με την ιστορική της συλλογή, ετοιμάζεται να εγκατασταθεί στο υπό κατασκευή νέο εμβληματικό της κτήριο το 2017, γεγονός που ενδέχεται να επαναφέρει την ταυτότητα αυτή στο προσκήνιο.
Στη Λάρισα (ως σλόγκαν της οποίας προτάθηκε το ‘Ανοικτή Πόλη’), εκτός από το θέατρο (Θεσσαλικό Θέατρο, Τιριτόμπα, ιδιωτικές σκηνές) και τις εικαστικές τέχνες (Μουσείο Κατσίγρα, κ.λπ.), αναδείχθηκε η παρουσία νέων σχεδιαστών, καλλιτεχνικών/μουσικών ομάδων και συλλογικοτήτων. Η παρουσία τους στην πόλη συγκροτεί μία πολύ δραστήρια και δυναμική νεανική σκηνή που σχετίζεται με την πολιτιστική παραγωγή. Οι χώροι και οι ομάδες αυτές αποτελούν σημαντική ευκαιρία ανάδειξης της πόλης ως επίκεντρου δημιουργικότητας. Παράλληλα οι εκπρόσωποι των πολιτιστικών φορέων της πόλης –όπως διαφάνηκε από τις συναντήσεις– δίνουν ιδιαίτερη σημασία στο Αρχαίο Θέατρο, τις διαδρομές στην πόλη, τα παραδοσιακά στοιχεία και τον καθημερινό πολιτισμό. Και στις δύο πόλεις αναδεικνύεται η δυσκολία που σχετίζεται με τη μη ύπαρξη προηγούμενης συζήτησης σχετικά με το μακροχρόνιο στρατηγικό σχεδιασμό των ΟΤΑ στον τομέα του πολιτισμού και του τουρισμού.
Σήμερα οι δύο πόλεις προσπαθούν να αξιοποιήσουν τα αποτελέσματα των παραπάνω ερευνών, σχεδιάζοντας σχετικές δράσεις. Ο πολιτισμός αποτελεί κεντρικό πυλώνα ανάπτυξης και προβολής των τόπων που ερευνήθηκαν, καθώς χαρακτηρίζεται ως ‘ανθεκτικός’ ακόμα και σε περιόδους κρίσης. Η bottom-up προσέγγιση που ακολουθήθηκε εστίασε στον εντοπισμό και την ανάδειξη δυναμικών πόρων ‘πολιτιστικής δημιουργικότητας’ που έχουν αναπτυχθεί τοπικά και σε συμμετοχικές διαδικασίες σχεδιασμού, επιχειρώντας να εφαρμόσει ένα νέο σχεδιασμό προβολής τόπου, συσχετίζοντάς το περισσότερο με την κοινωνική διάσταση. Το θέμα της bottom-up προσέγγισης της τοπικής πολιτιστικής στρατηγικής αναμένεται να συνεχίσει να προκαλεί το ενδιαφέρον στο χώρο της Τοπικής Αυτοδιοίκησης με δεδομένο ότι και άλλοι ΟΤΑ όπως ο Δήμος Αθηναίων, ο Δήμος Θεσσαλονίκης, ο Δήμος Καβάλας, κ.λπ. επενδύουν σε μορφές σχεδιασμού με τη συμμετοχή των πολιτών είτε σε επίπεδο πολιτιστικής στρατηγικής είτε σε επίπεδο μεμονωμένων πολιτιστικών χώρων (π.χ. Σφαγεία στη Θεσσαλονίκη, Αγορά Κυψέλης στην Αθήνα).
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