Reflecting on the challenges and dynamics of a contemporary mining territory, “Re-configuring productive Megalopolis” is an initiative with a series of events, aiming to mobilize the inhabitants and local stakeholders to get involved in a new vision for the future of the mining area.
Elena Kasselouri and Gabriella Georgakaki (±0.LAB) jointly completed their Master’s thesis, a design proposal for the active mining area in Megalopolis, Greece under the Master of Urbanism & Strategic Planning at KU Leuven. The constant dedication on exploring the particular landscape of her hometown and the personal interest in exploring the design approaches on the Greek landscape respectively are creating a mutual contribution to this platform. Subsequently, they organized this workshop and the series of events in the area, collaborating with the municipality, the power company and local community.
At the same time, an open platform is being formed, where a multidisciplinary team of scientists and designers could meet and, together with the community, discuss and share common visions about the area. “Re-configuring productive Megalopolis” is the starting point for a new perspective in strategic planning on the mining territory, based on contemporary methodologies and practices of urbanism.