Can post-Olympic Games urban regeneration be spontaneous and unplanned? The case of Athens Olympic Games (2004)

Abstract The urban regeneration linked to the Olympic Games is frequently planned with a master plan as in London or Barcelona. Atypically, the urban regeneration in the center of Athens seems different because it was carried out without overall planning after the Olympic Games had ended, although a master plan did exist since 1985. This research aims to understand how post-Olympic Games urban regeneration could be conducted in an informal manner over the long term, integrating all of the influences that have interacted to produce the current urban landscape (such as the deindustrialization, the development of recreative activities, and particularly the 2008 financial crisis and the effects of Airbnb activity). The results shows that urban regeneration has been conducted primarily by numerous family entrepreneurs, in an informal manner. The public authorities did not use strategic planning, iterative, contextualized, with objectives. The effects of this urban regeneration are also studied, such as in progress gentrification, evolution of jobs, increase in cultural and touristic activities, partial pedestrianization, partial buildings renovation, dilapidated buildings. The remain problem seems to be the lack of housing public planning and policy in the center.