City profile

Athens is the capital of Greece and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in the country. It is home to many ancient architectural sites such as the Acropolis and Parthenon, garnering many tourists per year. Beyond tourism, the city relies on its shipping, industrial production, food and tobacco processing, and textiles industries.

While Liveability and Loveability in Athens took a hit during and just after Covid-19, the city now ranks extremely highly in this area.

The city performs fairly evenly across metrics but gains high scores in vibrancy, safety and mobility. Additionally, the city's relatively lower cost of living against its peers propels it to being a top ranker in this area as housing affordability is one of the most critical social issues in cities today.

Where the city struggles the most is Investor Attractiveness which may be remedied by upcoming urban and national policy. In recent years, Athens has taken great strides to improve resilience—a cornerstone of effective Urban Management. The city has a Chief Resilience Officer and Chief Heat Officer underscoring the city's commitment to tackling climate-related challenges.

Insight

Our cities are changing, but they continue to be sought-after places for people to live, providing convenient access to jobs, education, entertainment, health care and community. However, our burgeoning cities are becoming increasingly vulnerable to many shocks and stresses that can impact lives and the quality of life. How do we reduce these impacts? And how do we become more resilient? We need to plan differently and recognise that we don’t have only one future, but many possible futures. To be fit for many futures, there are three fundamental questions to ask.
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