Endogenous Population Dynamics and Metropolitan Cycles: Long-Term Evidence from Athens, an Eternally Mediterranean City

Natural population growth is an intrinsic property of demographic systems that depends on (spatially) non-stationary processes of fertility and mortality. Assuming distinctive demographic dynamics as a characteristic attribute of urban, suburban and rural systems, analysis of spatial variability in natural population growth delineates nonlinear stages of metropolitan expansion, possibly reflecting divergent responses to socioeconomic stimuli. The present study investigates endogenous population growth (1956–2019) and the relationship with demographic density as basic attributes of individual stages of the city life cycle in Athens (Greece), a mono-centric metropolitan region in Southern Europe. A spatially explicit analysis of natural balance rates at local scale identified two stages of growth, namely compact urbanization (mid-1950s to late 1970s)—with agglomeration strengthening the polarization in demographically dynamic and shrinking districts—and spatially decentralized suburbanization (early 1980s to late 2010s)—with a less defined role of agglomeration economies and more heterogeneous demographic processes. However, the impact of population density on endogenous growth was stronger in recent decades, suggesting how demographic dynamics may still respond to agglomeration stimuli, at least during recessions. At the same time, the spatial structure of natural balance rates became more mixed, likely reflecting the importance of heterogeneous demographic behaviors at the individual level

Housing and the city. A spatial analysis of residential building activity and the socio-demographic background in a Mediterranean City, 1990-2017

Fluctuations in residential building activity are becoming progressively more intense over time and space in advanced economies and especially in Europe, fueling real estate market segmentation and making the performance of the construction industry increasingly unpredictable. If non-linear urbanization paths are the result of economic downturns consolidating progressively more volatile real estate markets, the present study investigates the impact of recent building cycles on long-term urban expansion in a Mediterranean city (Athens, Greece), using multiple clustering techniques run on a large set of building activity and socio-demographic indicators. Changes over time in building activity were evaluated considering 12 spatially-explicit indicators derived from the analysis of building permits released by Greek municipalities between 1990 and 2017. By referring to different analysis' scales (macro-scale: settlements, meso-scale: buildings, micro-scale: dwellings), indicators allow a comprehensive investigation of multiple dimensions and characteristics of construction markets at four-time intervals of 7 years each (1990-1996, 1997-2003, 2004-2010, 2011-2017). Spatio-temporal variability in building activity was further investigated considering 12 contextual indicators assessing the basic socio-demographic attributes of local municipalities. Cluster analysis allows identification of distinctive, local-scale responses of real estate markets to economic cycles (expansion-stagnation-recession) in both short- and long-term horizons and relate them to the dominant socio-demographic context. Density of new buildings, average floors per new building, density of buildings' additions and number of building permits per inhabitant were found to be the most sensitive indicators to economic downturns in the study area. Infrastructure-driven development, as a result of the 2004 Olympic Games, has produced relevant short-term alterations in residential construction markets, complicating urbanization trends at the local scale. Multi-scale indicators from building permit records provide a useful insight in the diachronic mechanisms of urban growth, with implications for regional planning and design of sustainable development practices

Primary Health Services Utilization in Greece: Studying the Past for Planning the Future

Σκοπός του συγκεκριμένου άρθρου είναι η μελέτη της χρήσης των πρωτοβάθμιων υπηρεσιών υγείας στην Ελλάδα. Για το σκοπό αυτό αναλύθηκαν, μέσω των μεθόδων Logistic και Linear Regression, δεδομένα από πανελλαδική έρευνα η οποία υλοποιήθηκε το έτος 2006. Η πιθανότητα χρήσης υπηρεσιών υγείας προσδιορίζεται από το φύλο, την ύπαρξη χρόνιας νόσου, το αυτό-αξιολογούμενο επίπεδο υγείας και την ηλικία, ενώ ο λογάριθμος του αριθμού των επισκέψεων προσδιορίζεται από το φύλο, την ύπαρξη χρόνιας νόσου, τη γεωγραφική περιφέρεια, το εισόδημα και την αντίληψη σχετικά με την απειλή από τα ιατρικά προβλήματα. Η χρήση πρωτοβάθμιων υπηρεσιών υγείας συσχετίζεται επομένως με τις αντιλήψεις των ατόμων αλλά και με παράγοντες οι οποίοι εκφράζουν τις ανάγκες υγείας ή το κοινωνικοοικονομικό επίπεδο.The objective of this paper is to study healthcare utilization in Greece. Thedata were derived from a national survey conducted in 2006, and analysed through Logistic and Linear Regression. The likelihood of primary healthcare utilization is determined by the gender, the existence of a chronic disease, the self-rated health and the age, while the logarithm of the visitsto primary health services is determined by the gender, the existence of a chronic disease, the income, the geographical region and the perceived threat from the health condition. Thus, primary healthcare utilization is determined by beliefs, health need as well as socioeconomic factors

METROPOLITAN AGRICULTURE, SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC DYNAMICS AND THE FOOD-CITY RELATIONSHIP IN SOUTHERN EUROPE

Peri-urban agriculture is a pivotal issue in the debate on sustainable management of land in metropolitan regions worldwide. Multiple socioeconomic and environmental solutions introduced by new models of peri-urban agriculture are playing an important role in planning and management of fringe land. The recent development of peri-urban agriculture in Southern European cities was supposed to reflect latent, crisis-driven processes of 'coming back to land': new land has been extensively cultivated, and new relations have been created between farmers, communities and territories within peri-urban areas. This study describes some relevant experiences of peri-urban farming in 6 metropolitan regions (Lisbon, Barcelona, Marseille, Rome, Athens, Istanbul) representative of different socioeconomic contexts in Southern Europe, outlining strengths and weaknesses in the use of fringe land for cropping, and evidencing relevant implications for urban sustainability

Social determinants, health status and 10-year mortality among 10,906 older adults from the English longitudinal study of aging: the ATHLOS project

BACKGROUND: In either rich or poor countries, people's health widely depends on the social conditions in which they live and work - the social determinants of health. The aim of the present work was to explore the association of educational and financial status with healthy aging and mortality. METHODS: Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) were studied (n = 10,906 participants, 64 ± 11 years, 55% women). A set of 45 self-reported health items and measured tests were used to generate a latent health metric reflecting levels of functioning referred to as health metric (higher values indicated better health status). Overall mortality after 10-years of follow-up (2002-2012) was recorded. RESULTS: Both education and household wealth over time were positively associated with the health metric (p < 0.001) and negatively with overall mortality (p < 0.001). Lifestyle behaviors (i.e., physical activity, smoking habits and alcohol consumption) mediated the effect of education and household wealth on the health metric and the latter mediated their effect on overall mortality. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, reducing socioeconomic disparities in health by improving the access to education and by providing financial opportunities should be among the priorities in improving the health of older adults. KEYWORDS: Education; Financial status; Health; Healthy aging; Mortality; Social determinants; Socioeconomi

Families and states: citizenship and demography in the Greco-Roman world

This paper investigates the interrelationship between states and families. At different levels of organization, both play a large role in shaping the context in which individuals live their lives. Yet when it comes to understanding key demographic events in the ancient Mediterranean world – birth, marriage, migration, family structures, and death – they are hardly brought together. In this paper, I argue that Greek and Roman demographic patterns were tightly connected with their own specific political-institutional frameworks that developed over the course of (city-)state formation processes. This interaction was shaped in particular by the emergence of diverging notions of citizenship in the Greek and the Roman world, which went hand in hand with the installment of disparate incentives and disincentives to certain demographic behaviors. Differing citizenship criteria, in other words, invoked different demographic behaviors. A ‘political demography’ perspective, therefore, helps us understand how and why Greek and Roman individuals selected their marriage candidates on different criteria, and sheds light on divergences in their respective emphases on extended family ties.

Precarious employment in Greece: economic crisis, labour market flexibilisation, and vulnerable workers

The discourse on precarious employment has been growing over the last few years, particularly due to the recent financial crisis. Flexible forms of work, such as part-time or temporary, traditionally seen as a way for boosting employment, have now given way to a new form of work, the so-called precarious employment. Greece has been the European country mostly hit by the economic crisis and the levels of unemployment during the past decade have reached unprecedented levels. Nevertheless, the official levels of unemployment only tell a part of the story. Thousands of workers have been “forced” to accept jobs in positions that would not be their first choice, thus masking the real extent of the problem. This paper utilises data from the Labour Force Survey from both before and during the economic crisis in order to investigate different aspects of precarious employment and how these have been intensified. Ten measures of precarious employment are constructed covering six areas including a) contractual precariousness, b) unsociable hours precariousness c) institutional context precariousness d) income precariousness, e) insecurity precariousness and f) working conditions precariousness. The evolution and intensification of aspects of precarious employment is investigated at a country as well as regional level and across various groups of workers. The findings of the study point towards a continuous deterioration of the employment relationship with impacts on both the structures of the economy and targeted towards specific groups of workers

SCHOOL TEACHERS’ VIEWS TOWARDS THE EFFECTS OF A CRISIS ON CONFLICTS: THE CASE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The investigation of conflicts and their management in primary school units emerges as extremely important, given that the educational process must be conducted within a positive working environment. This paper examines the phenomenon of conflict in primary schools at a time of crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. This is for the reason that the above period is likely to have reshaped the relationships of cooperation and, by extension, the number, intensity and impact of the inevitable conflicts in social organizations such as schools. According to the research results, the school conflicts were found to concern existing issues prior to the pandemic and to a lesser extent reflected problems that arose as a result of health protection measures against the new coronavirus, the extensive use of ICT, distance teaching and the new conditions of organization and operation to which schools had to adapt. Also, they contributed decisively to the tackling of issues that emerged regarding the operation of the school as a consequence of the new health and social conditions. This finding demonstrates to school management that the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, just like any other crisis, in fact, takes on both negative and positive qualities.  Article visualizations

Lifestyle and health determinants of cardiovascular disease among Greek older adults living in Eastern Aegean Islands: An adventure within the MEDIS study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate lifestyle and health determinants of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among Greek elderly residents living in Eastern Aegean islands, in both Greece and Turkey. METHODS: Under the context of the MEDIS study, 724 older adults (aged 65 to 100 years) from 8 Eastern Aegean Sea Greek islands (n=100 living in Samothrace, 142 in Lesvos, 150 in Limnos, 76 in Ikaria, 52 in Kassos, 149 in Rhodes and Karpathos) and from Turkey (n=55older adults of Greek origin living on Gökçeada Island) were voluntarily recruited. Overall cardiometabolic risk was measured as the sum (range 0-4) of four common CVD risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and obesity). RESULTS: Greek islanders had higher CVD scores compared to Greeks of Gökçeada (1.9±1.1 vs 1.4±1.0 risk factors / participant, p<0.001). Further analysis revealed that the diet of Greek islanders was similar to the traditional Mediterranean diet; however, these individuals demonstrated 2-times higher odds (95% CI, 1.04-3.87) for having hypertension, 1.53-times higher odds (95% CI, 0.66-3.54) for having diabetes, 3.29-times higher odds (95% CI, 1.58-6.81) for having hypercholesterolemia; whereas they had 0.78-times lower odds (95% CI, 0.40-1.52) for being obese, compared to elderly Greek adults living on Gökçeada. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, CVD risk seems to be low among Eastern Aegean Islanders; certain differences in CVD risk factors exist between Greek islanders and their counterparts living in Gökçeada, and those differences may be attributed to various environmental, cultural and lifestyle factors