ATHENS
Summary
This third year human geography field trip takes students to Athens in Greece, normally during the first week of the Easter vacation. Athens is a fascinating city being a mix between a classic developing world city (containing areas of high population density, in-migration and urban poverty) and one that strives to be a major global City of the twenty first century (containing areas of high affluence and major urban regeneration). It is a City thus of great dynamics. It is also a famous historical City with the City Centre showing signs of human life as it was in 500BC. The City has also recently hosted the Olympic Games and thus offers an insight into the advantages and disadvantages of sport as a major regeneration strategy (and one that is interesting in relation to London 2012). On the final day we also explore the local island of Aegina and discuss the prospects of economic development within island economies. The field class is introduced by a series of lectures in semester two.
Structure and content
The trip is built around the major theme of urban economic regeneration. Whilst in Athens we shall explore the following major sub-themes including the social geography of the City (geodemographics), city centre regeneration and the role of tourism (regeneration strategies), economic growth of the City and its fight to be a global city, sport and retailing and their potential for urban regeneration and the regeneration of island economies.
Staff
Prof Graham Clarke, Prof Mark Birkin, Prof John Stillwell plus two postgraduate students
