Pavlina Sfakianaki, "CHANIA / SELLING OUT THE CITY the city’s conscription from tourism", Diploma Thesis Project, School of Architecture, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece, 2023
https://doi.org/10.26233/heallink.tuc.98271
The city today, more than ever, is the most precious thing we have.1 In historic cities, history and memories are inextricably linked to the modern urban landscape. But the tourist phenomenon is increasing to such an extent that the historical centers are in confusion. The alteration of its characteristics and its identity inevitably leads sometimes to the museumization of a fixed and frozen landscape, sometimes to complete commercialization. This paper deals with the transformation of the city and its shift from a historical place to a place of trade and exploitation during the 20th and 21st centuries, where mass tourism is at the top. Highlighting the transformations, the pathogenesis, the contrasting readings and interpretations of the contemporary historic city, the paper looks back on concepts that are now forgotten, such as heritage and identity, which reinforce the preservation of historicity in order to relate the historical and contemporary city. Based on the above, the study focuses on the city of Chania as a mutating city that changes form day by day due to the intense development of tourism.