‘Pocket Park’ Network in Athens is Growing

The Municipality of Athens recently added a new green area to its growing network of “pocket parks” which can be found in neighborhoods in the Greek capital.

The city’s sixth pocket park is located on the Dimitris Pavilidis pedestrian street of the Petralona district and covers an area of 160sqm.

“This is one more step closer to our goal which is to create a network of 10 pocket parks in Athens by the end of the year,” Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis said.

The new sustainable pocket park in Petralona has bioclimatic design features and includes new tall evergreen trees, suitable for the city’s microclimatic conditions. The trees have been planted along the sidewalk offering natural shade for visitors while the park also has hedges formed by plants and shrubs shaped in modern geometric designs.

The park includes a total of six new trees, 276 shrubs and 200 plants.

Meanwhile, the municipality has renewed the area’s urban equipment with new waste and recycling bins, as well as the installation of special bins for the recycling of cigarette butts.

The new park also features an autonomous photovoltaic lighting system.

“The pocket parks may not be able to change the city but they can change its neighborhoods and when added together, they create a meaningful result,” Mayor Bakoyannis said.