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The istopol Project

The ISTOPOL research project investigates apartment blocks in Athens as locales of social and ethnic cohabitation, but also of segregation among the different social and ethic groups of their residents. In ISTOPOL we use in-depth interviews to map life trajectories of individuals and households actually living, having lived or holding properties in these apartment blocks. Through these interviews we can also link residents’ life trajectories with the trajectories of real estate properties. Properties are changing hands and/or users, are refurbished or left unmaintained and, frequently, are used as important elements in strategies of social reproduction, especially by midde-class families. Eventually, the main object of this project is to explore the role of this important part of the city’s housing stock in the social reproduction process.

Participate in istopol

The aim of the research program is to continuously enrich the research material through the participation of city’s inhabitants.