Halka Açık Alanlar

Bu sabah, televizyonda halka açık alanlar için bir tartışmayı duydum. Tartışma İtalya'da yer alıp, İtalya'nın durumudan bahşetti, ama benim duyduğum şeyler Yunanistan için de geçerlilerdi.

Tartışma'da katılan birisi göre, Kuzey Avrupa ülkelerinde hem vatandaşlar hem de devletler halka açık alanların konusunda daha düşünceliymiş. Diğer taraftan, Akdeniz ülkelerinde insanlar halka açık alanların korumasıyla o kadar ilgilenmemişler. Belki bu ülkelerin hava güneşli olduğu, ve buradaki insanlarda iyi bir havanın tadını çıkarmak için evlerinden çıkmasına gerek olmadığını içindir.

Belki bu sebeple hem devlet hem de işadamları her kullanılmayan yeri faydalanmaya çalışıyor. Sonuç olarak, vatandaşlar için açık alanlar yavaş yavaş daha az oluyor.

Hatırlıyorum da, benim şehrimde birkaç yıl önce bazı sokaklar yaya yollarına dürüştürüldü. İlk zamanlar yayalar kolay yürüyebildiler, ama bir süre sonra, o yaya yollar yakındaki lokantalar ve kafeteryaların tarafından masalar ve sandalyeler ile dolduruldu. Şimdi, o sokaklarda yürümek arabaların oradan geçtiğini zamandan bile daha zor. Halka açık alanlara saygı göstermek çok önemli.

This morning, I listened to a discussion on TV about public spaces. The discussion took place in Italy and referred to the situation over there, but the things I heard were also true for Greece.

According to one of the speakers, both citizens and the state seem to be much more sensitive to matters of public spaces in northern Europe. On the other hand, in Mediterranean countries, people are not that interested in the preservation of public spaces. Maybe it's because these countries generally have nice weather and people do not really need to leave their homes in order to enjoy it.

Maybe it's for this reason that both the state and businessmen try to make use of every unexploited space. As a result, public spaces for citizens become less and less.

I remember that in my city, many streets had been turned into pedestrian streets a few years ago. At first pedestrians could walk easily through them, but after a while, they were all filled up with tables and chairs by nearby cafés and restaurants. Now it's even harder to walk those streets than when they were meant for cars. Respecting public spaces is very important.

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Σήμερα το πρωί άκουσα στην τηλεόραση μια συζήτηση σχετικά με τους δημόσιους χώρους. Η συζήτηση λάμβανε χώρα στην Ιταλία και αναφερόταν στην κατάσταση της Ιταλίας, αλλά πολλά από τα πράγματα που άκουσα ίσχυαν και για την Ελλάδα.

Σύμφωνα με έναν από τους ομιλητές, στις χώρες της βόρειας Ευρώπης τόσο οι πολίτες όσο και το κράτος τείνουν να είναι πολύ πιο ευαισθητοποιημένοι στο θέμα των δημοσίων χώρων. Από την άλλη, ο κόσμος στις Μεσογειακές χώρες δεν δείχνει να ενδιαφέρεται ιδιαίτερα για την προστασία των δημοσίων χώρων. Ίσως να είναι έτσι επειδή αυτές οι χώρες έχουν γενικά καλό καιρό και οι άνθρωποι δεν χρειάζεται να βγουν από το σπίτι τους για να τον απολαύσουν.

Ίσως γι'αυτόν τον λόγο τόσο το κράτος όσο και οι επιχειρηματίες προσπαθούν να χρησιμοποιούν ό,τι ανεκμετάλλευτο χώρο βρίσκουν.

Θυμάμαι πριν κάμποσα χρόνια ότι στην πόλη μου είχαν μετατρέψει κάποιους δρόμους σε πεζόδρομους. Στην αρχή οι πεζοί μπορούσαν να περπατάνε εύκολα και άνετα, αλλά μετά από λίγο καιρό, οι πεζόδρομοι γεμίσανε με τραπεζάκια και καρέκλες από διπλανά εστιατόρια και καφετέριες. Τώρα είναι πιο δύσκολο να περπατήσει κανείς εκεί, ακόμα και από όταν περνούσαν αυτοκίνητα από εκεί. Είναι πολύ σημαντικό να σεβόμαστε τους δημόσιους χώρους.