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The study of residential segregation and its implications in urban space follows long and differentiated scientific traditions around the globe. This chapter focuses on segregation and coexistence by providing an overview of the relevant scientific debates focused on the case of Athens. Special emphasis is placed on the conceptualisation of “vertical micro-segregation”. By tracing the evolution of the local scientific debate, the aim is to discuss the role played by the context in the conceptualisation and study of segregation in Athens. Low segregation levels in Athens directed scientific research to socio-spatial hierarchies and divisions at the micro-scale. In this context, the typical Athenian multi-storey apartment building became a prominent terrain for the study of (vertically) socio-spatial inequalities and terms of coexistence at the micro-level of everyday life. As discussed in this chapter, low levels of (horizontal) segregation do not necessarily impede the increase of socio-spatial inequalities and polarisation. These observations raise serious questions about the assumptions embedded in conceptualisation of segregation globally. For Athens in particular, they call for further research about the impact of past and current developments in the housing sector on the restructurings of the social geography of Athens.

This paper, first time in the Greek literature, measures and maps multiple deprivation in Athens in 2001 and three years into the economic crisis, in 2011, capturing the effects of two decades of urban development. We find that the spatial distribution of multiple deprivation in Athens, follows a centre-periphery as well as an east-west division that has persisted through time, and deepened during the decade of the 2000s. These divisions are linked to the political construction of the Athenian space, the way that the state has historically shaped how the city developed during the post-war period and has responded to the sovereign debt crisis since 2009. We argue that given the scale and persistency of multiple deprivation it is about time to reconsider the role of Greek urban regeneration policies that are implemented within a politically controlled and fragmented field of planning, without openly addressing redistribution and equity concerns.