Uploaded on 2017-03-19 by Eleftheria Tsakiri

Compulsory exercise 1 1) 1- Environment 2- Housing 3- Job Opportunity 4- Health 5- Culture 2) I am 20 years old and I currently split my time between two cities. My hometown is Athens, Greece, I have lived there my whole life and I still spend a significant amount of time there but since last year I moved in Patras (a much smaller city that’s about a 3-hour-drive from Athens ) to study architecture. I live in Patras for the most part of the year but there is no reason for it other than I study here and also I don’t intend in staying here after I graduate (in 3 years) so I will focus this exercise on my hometown in Athens. It is important to say that I don’t live in the center of Athens but in a residential suburb called Papagos. I live here (in Papagos) for the following reasons: a. My parents live here and I have lived here and it is the place they chose to buy a house in. b. It is a residential area that has transportation to the center of the city so it combines quiet and space with the life/ culture/opportunities of the city. c. It has many parks and green spaces so the environment is very pleasant and the air is clean compared to that of the center of Athens. Moreover, it is at the foot of a small mountain so it is in touch with nature and the mountain provides great hiking /walking paths and space for several activities/exercise. d. It is a quite safe place with nice neighborhoods. Also in terms of health there are at least 3 big hospitals within a ten-minute-drive radius. e. It is a relatively small community but it is quite organized. The public school is really good, the streets and public spaces are clean, several cultural events take place in specific spaces throughout the year (especially during the summer) - coordinated by the people of the community. 3) 1. Environment: 90% 2. Housing: 70% 3. Job Opportunity: 45% (or probably less but unemployment is a general problem of my country right now) 4. Health: 75% 5. Culture: 65% The general score according to the scores above is 69 % . 4) The first measure I would take to improve livability would be to improve transportation within the area. Even though I didn’t put transportation in the top-5 criteria of livability, good transportation is what is missing to make my area a really good place to live in. Maybe this problem is not so obvious because people are used to using cars all the time here, but it is the biggest problem that I can currently think of since it is not always possible to use or even own a car especially for younger people. 5) a. London: Job opportunities, education, culture, economy, recreational possibilities b. Amsterdam: Job opportunities, culture, environment, economy, recreational possibilities c. New York: Job opportunities, culture, international connectivity, recreational possibilities, housing e. Adelaide: Job opportunities, environment, climate, culture, economy. d. Zurich: Job opportunities, culture, economy, housing, safety