Alex Deffner CULTURAL SPACES IN ATHENS: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE PAPER PRESENTED TO THE “LEISURE LIFESTYLES AND IDENTITIES” WORKSHOP OF THE VIII ELRA CONGRESS “LEISURE AND NEW CITIZENSHIP”. BILBAO, FRIDAY, JUNE 12TH, 1992 CONTENTS Page REMARKS ON THE CONGRESS 2 ABSTRACT 4 I. PREFACE 4 II. INTRODUCTION 4 III. THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE CULTURAL SPACES IN ATHENS 6 1. The comparative weight of Athens 6 2. The differentiation between ‘artistic’ and ‘educational’ cultural spaces 7 3. The dominance of the town centre 10 4. The grouping of the municipalities of Athens in five areas 10 IV. THE CULTURAL CRISIS 11 1. Changes in the cultural spaces 11 1.1 The rationalisation of space 1.2 The commercialisation of space and leisure 1.3 The privatisation of space and leisure 2. Other dimensions of the cultural crisis - Its relation to the welfare state crisis 12 2.1 Cultural policy of the state 2.2 The ideological dimension 2.3 The spatial dimension of cultural inequalities V. CONCLUSIONS 15 1. The inequality of chances 16 1.1 The spatial distribution of the cultural spaces 1.2 The effect of the state policy 1.3 The factors which contribute to the spatial infrastructure 2. The cultural reproduction and its relation to social reproduction 17 2.1 The role of the cultural credentials in social reproduction 2.2 The cultural role of Athens