Urban Diary #1 - Rethinking the Polykatoikia in Egaleo: The first year of Rock the Block

Egaleo is a city situated in the western agglomeration of Athens. With an official population of 65,000 and an estimated real population of 100,000, Egaleo is effectively part of the Athens functional area. Its attractiveness stems from its lower rents and real estate prices compared to Athens, coupled with the significant advantage of having three metro stations that provide excellent connectivity to the centre of Athens. In addition to the metro, one of the agglomeration’s most important highways, the E75, connects Egaleo, running between the Saronic Gulf and Mount Aigaleo. 

Most of the city’s urban fabric is characterised by two-, three-, and four-storey buildings, predominantly built in the latter half of the last century. These multi-storey apartment buildings, known as Polykatoikias, are a result of the rapid – and often unregulated – urbanisation that the Athens agglomeration experienced during this period. Egaleo’s centre is defined by a grid of high streets organised around the Egaleo metro station, lined with small businesses, ranging from cafes and bakeries to clothing and homeware shops, as well as the University of West Attica campus and the Baroutadiko Forest, an urban grove that provides a break from the paved streets. 

The key challenge that Egaleo is trying to tackle with the EUI Innovative Action project Rock the Block is the complex and interconnected set of problems related to the financial crisis, poverty, and the inability of households to maintain their homes and to improve their housing conditions. Polykatoikias (multi-storey apartment buildings) constitute almost two-thirds of the city's building stock; while these buildings provided much-needed housing during a time of rapid growth, they now present several challenges that the Rock the Block initiative aims to address holistically.

One of the primary concerns is the age and technological limitations of the existing building stock. Many of these Polykatoikias were constructed with technologies that do not meet contemporary energy efficiency standards and are ill-equipped to face today's climate change-related challenges. This leads to issues such as higher energy consumption and a larger carbon footprint. Rock the Block seeks to address this by offering funding for technical interventions in these buildings, with a strong emphasis on green and circular economy principles. The project allows residents to co-design solutions tailored to their specific buildings, fostering innovation from the ground up. Rock the Block aims to support community activities within the funded building improvement projects, intending to strengthen local networks of solidarity, care, and support. Examples of such initiatives could include the development of shared spaces for social interaction, childcare, or elderly care within the Polykatoikias.

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Square in Egaleo. Photo by Levente Polyák

A key innovation of Rock the Block emanates from the recognition that housing challenges cannot be viewed in isolation. Traditional approaches that focus solely on the provision of appropriate housing often overlook crucial aspects such as the local economy, social infrastructure, public spaces, green areas, and climate adaptation, all of which significantly impact residents' quality of life and social mobility. By addressing housing within this broader context, Rock the Block seeks initiatives that connect technical, green, aesthetic, and social approaches to housing improvements.

Encouraging cooperation and creating a shared vision among the residents of Polykatoikias, however, is not a banal task. While a basic level of cooperation exists in many buildings for routine building maintenance and daily tasks, Rock the Block aims to inspire a more proactive and future-oriented collaboration among neighbours to identify their needs and collectively plan for the upgrading of their living environments. This shift from an individual household focus to the condominium building as the unit of intervention requires residents to engage in an unusual level of cooperation and coordination. The project aims to support this process, potentially drawing on the existing practices of solidarity and collective identities. 

Ultimately, the key challenge for Egaleo, as tackled by Rock the Block, is to transform its ageing and often socially isolating housing stock into more sustainable, aesthetically enhanced, and community-oriented living spaces. This transformation involves not only physical upgrades to the buildings but also the strengthening of social connections among residents and the development of new institutional frameworks within the municipality to support ongoing innovation in the housing sector. The project’s emphasis on resident-led, co-designed solutions is central to this approach, aiming to empower communities from within and create lasting positive change. By addressing these multifaceted challenges in an integrated way, Rock the Block aspires to improve the quality of life for Egaleo's residents and contribute to a more resilient and cohesive urban environment.

The first year of Rock the Block was organised around the Egaleo Municipality’s open call, inviting Polykatoikias to apply for funding to support improvements and new initiatives within their buildings.

A unique aspect of the open call was its open and collaborative nature. Unlike traditional funding schemes, there was no predefined list of eligible technical works or activities; instead, the municipality encouraged residents to co-design the solutions for their buildings. This approach allowed the project to learn from the innovative ideas coming directly from the residents and potentially inform future municipal policies. The envisioned interventions needed to have a strong green, circular, and aesthetic character, while community activities financed by the project were expected to strengthen local networks of solidarity, care, and support.

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Green areas are potential sites for community activities. Photo by Levente Polyák

The conditions for pre-selecting the buildings that could receive funding were carefully developed following a consultation process that included a series of public events and expert input. The municipality organised four public meetings held at diverse locations (two schools, a museum, and an entrepreneurship centre) to present the call, reach a wide range of residents, and understand their needs and concerns. These face-to-face interactions allowed public officers to clarify the project's main vision, and shift the focus of residents from technical details to aspects of sharing and community. 

The public meetings also served as a platform to discuss the preliminary selection conditions that buildings would need to meet to access funding. These criteria were designed to ensure that the project not only benefited private property owners but also generated public value for the city of Egaleo. The preliminary conditions included:

1) Agreement by the majority of owners within the building.

2) Active participation in the process of co-designing and co-implementing the proposed interventions.

3) Joining the municipality’s biowaste management programme.

4) Accommodating at least three types of interventions from the categories of energy, green, inclusive, and circular.

5) A commitment from property owners to maintain the implemented interventions for at least five years.

6) Crucially, an agreement to lease apartments for a specified period at an affordable rate in exchange for the received funding. 

After gathering feedback from residents during the June public meetings, the municipality uploaded the participation criteria on the project website for a month to solicit further feedback before finalising them. Once the call was officially open, the municipality continued to offer support to potential applicants, providing practical assistance with documentation and the application submission process at the Egaleo Hub. This support also served as a pilot for the services to be offered by Egaleo’s future Housing Office, a key institutional outcome of the Rock the Block project, designed to provide ongoing information and support to residents on housing-related matters. By the closing date of 31 October, the municipality had received 40 applications from diverse parts of the city, representing a variety of building types and social compositions.

After the closure of the open call, the selection process moved into a detailed evaluation phase. In this phase, a set of criteria, broadly categorised around technical characteristics, social dynamics and transferability or scalability, was developed by the consortium to assess and rank the proposals. These criteria were used during site visits to the potential laureates by various consortium members, in order to select the 8-12 buildings to be supported with a total of €1 million.

The technical criterion focused on the physical conditions of the buildings, including aspects like the building shell, insulation levels, windows, and heating systems. The University of Thessaloniki played a significant role in conducting these technical assessments, which involved on-site visits to understand the existing conditions. They used a specific questionnaire to note down the condition of various building elements. The ease of implementing technical interventions and their potential impact on energy performance and long-term cost reduction were also considered. A key aspect of the assessment here was the feasibility within the programme's budget, as older buildings in very poor condition, while potentially scoring high on need, could be too costly to fix.

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Condominium rooftops can be repurposed to support energy production. Photo by Levente Polyák

The social criterion assessed the social dynamics and engagement potential of the residents, based on one-to-one interviews and group discussions. These discussions aimed to understand the relationships between residents, their willingness to participate, existing care networks, and their ideas for common spaces. The evaluators also looked for a balance between homeowners and renters within the buildings to understand different participation dynamics. 

The transferability and scalability criterion focused on the potential for the initiatives to be replicated or scaled up in other contexts. This involved considering factors like the building's typology, geographical location within Egaleo, and the innovative potential of the proposed interventions. The presence of empty apartments was seen as a positive factor, offering an opportunity for the housing office to test models for managing affordable housing. Similarly, vacant lots in the vicinity of buildings were seen as a potential extension of the field of action. The selection also aimed for a geographical spread across the four areas of Egaleo and a variety of building sizes and types to test the programme's tools in diverse settings.

Throughout the evaluation, the budget and feasibility of the proposed interventions were kept in mind. The university in Thessaloniki worked on a pre-budget to estimate the cost of basic technical interventions for the top 10 buildings on the list to ensure they were within the allocated funds. This budgetary assessment would also inform the decision on the final number of buildings (between 8 and 12) that could be funded. The possibility of seeking additional funding from the Green Fund was also considered if the initial budget proved insufficient.

The grading of the Polykatoikias was generally based on consensus among the consortium partners. However, there were internal debates, particularly concerning the criterion related to resident engagement. These discussions highlighted the tension between addressing the needs of the most challenging buildings and ensuring successful participation and impact within the programme's constraints. The evaluation process was thus a comprehensive and collaborative effort, balancing technical assessments, social considerations, budgetary constraints, and strategic goals to select the initiatives with the most potential for positive and lasting impact on Egaleo. 

In order to support the applicants during the call and to serve the broader Egaleo community, the municipality introduced two new, interconnected institutions. The Housing Office and the Co-Living Hub are central to the project's aims of revitalising the town's older housing stock, addressing housing needs, and strengthening community bonds.

The Housing Office was conceived as a dedicated resource centre intended to support not only the beneficiaries of the Rock the Block project but also all residents of the Municipality of Egaleo. Its primary role is multifaceted, built upon a "triple role". Firstly, it functioned as a "hotline" for Rock the Block beneficiaries, serving as a key communication channel between residents of the selected Polykatoikias and the project partners, including a panel of experts and the Advisory Board. This involves providing clear information on selection criteria, necessary application documents, and keeping beneficiaries informed about project activities, workshops, and events. 

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Event at the premises of the Housing Office. Photo by Levente Polyák 

Secondly, the Housing Office acts as a "one-stop shop" on housing issues for all residents of Egaleo. This pillar encompasses offering comprehensive information and legal advice on current national housing programmes, such as energy efficiency interventions for vulnerable households. It also includes providing guidance on tenant rights, lease agreements, and offering mediation services in housing disputes. Furthermore, the office aims to act as a mediator between owners of vacant properties and potential tenants, seeking to create a repository of available housing stock with a social perspective. The Housing Office will also monitor housing regulations and institutional frameworks, analyse relevant data, and potentially propose policy recommendations. 

Thirdly, it serves as a network point, connecting with other housing offices and initiatives within Greece and potentially Europe, contributing to a national strategy for housing offices and facilitating the sustainability of project results. The Housing Office will also design policy tools to address identified housing challenges and continue the sustainability study of buildings after the project ends.

The Co-Living Hub is envisioned as an integrated component of the Housing Office, sharing the same premises and overall structure but fulfilling a distinct role focused on upskilling and empowering residents. It aims to enhance the skills of beneficiaries and the wider community in areas crucial for affordable and sustainable housing, such as energy-saving practices, decision-making, and the potential establishment of energy communities. The Co-Living Hub will offer workshops on cooperative housing models, social housing trends, and participatory design processes. It is conceived as a "lab" for exchanging skills and conducting workshops, and may also function as a library of things. Its core objectives include fostering collaboration, sustainability, and a sense of belonging.

As a multifunctional community space located within existing municipal facilities, it is intended to be a gathering point for residents and neighbours to connect, collaborate, and build social bonds. A strong emphasis is placed on environmental responsibility, with the Hub designed to incorporate eco-friendly practices and serve as a model for sustainable living. It will offer diverse educational programs and workshops on topics like sustainable living, waste management, energy conservation, and community building, drawing inspiration from Rock the Block activities. Inclusivity and diversity are fundamental values, with the Hub aiming to be welcoming to individuals from all backgrounds. Participatory governance is another key principle, with residents actively involved in decision-making processes to shape the Hub's activities. 

In essence, the Housing Office provides the overarching institutional framework and support for addressing housing needs, while the Co-Living Hub offers a physical, community-oriented space for fostering skills, social cohesion, and sustainable practices, acting as a practical arm of the Housing Office's broader goals. While both structures were launched in an early stage of Rock the Block, they will evolve throughout the project and their activities will be shaped by the changing needs of the Egaleo community. 

In the following months, Rock the Block will focus on the final selection of the Polykatoikias whose initiatives for renovation, energy upgrade, circularity and community spaces will be financed by the programme. After the selection, consortium partners will engage in a period of intense exchange with the buildings’ residents, in order to support them in co-designing their interventions, prepare the technical specifications and plan for their long-term sustainability. In the meanwhile, the consortium will work on maximising the impact of the actions by involving a broader set of residents and organisations and extending the scope of the interventions to adjacent vacant properties and public spaces as well.