Economic Transformations and Suburban Expansion in the Mediterranean City: Metropolitan Spaces Revisited

This contribution delineates recent trends in a metropolitan region of Southern Europe, considering a broad set of socio-economic variables exploring multiple dimensions of urban change (demographic structure, job market, residential settlements, rural areas, economic organisation and transport/services). Athens, the Greek capital, and its surrounding region (Attica) were considered paradigmatic example of long-term metropolitan transformations in the Mediterranean basin. The study area was partitioned into two spatial domains (the Greater Athens district, governed by nearly 60 municipalities that include downtown Athens and Piraeus, and the remaining part of the region administered by more than 50 municipalities). The empirical analysis identified distinct growth waves (before and after the 1980s) distinguishing 'fast' and 'slow' factors alimenting the shift from industry to advanced services. Athens experienced, up to the 1980s, a continuous population increase and settlement compactness in periurban Attica, with suburbanisation and expanding urban functions over larger metropolitan districts. In the following decades, Athens displayed a more stable population and economic consolidation leading to sprawl and concentration of activities in the most accessible locations. Such dynamics reflect long-term growth paths typical of recent Mediterranean urbanisation. A multi-scale analysis of growth and change in contemporary cities remains a valuable investigation tool outlining the role of informal and scattered developmental modes in advanced economies and emerging countries.