Betting against mono-centrism? The impact of economic crisis on city vertical profiles in metropolitan Athens, Greece

The present study investigates the inherent transition from compact to sprawled morphologies in European cities, focusing on metropolitan Athens, Greece. Using building permits’ data from 1981 to 2020, the research examines long-term and short-term changes in the vertical profile of central and peripheral settlements in Athens, controlling for the impact of socioeconomic factors and territorial backgrounds. The empirical findings reveal that Athens’ growth followed a classical mono-centric model for several decades, while experiencing a significant transformation in settlement structure and dynamics since the early 2010s, as an indirect effect of the great recession. The study highlights the crucial role of specific territorial factors, rooted in economic and socio-demographic origins, in shaping this process of urban transformation.