Athens offers blueprint for urban heat resilience

Cities are being urged to treat extreme heat as a long-term urban management issue rather than a seasonal emergency, as a new report highlights how Athens is reshaping governance, public awareness and urban design to protect residents.

Building Resilience to Heat in the City of Athens, published by the Resilient Cities Network, outlines how Europe’s hottest capital has developed a structured approach centred on awareness, preparedness and redesign. The report sets out practical steps that other municipalities can adopt as heatwaves become hotter, longer and more frequent.

Athens has worked to move heat from an invisible threat to a coordinated policy priority embedded across municipal functions. A key early step was establishing clear leadership.

“The first step for cities is to appoint a responsible lead–such as a heat focal point or resilience officer–who can coordinate across departments and bring together public health, social care, and public works under one shared goal. It can even be a part-time position, ” Valerie Brown, Climate Resilience Manager at the Resilient Cities Network the report’s author told Cities Today.

Athens’ approach combines physical interventions with programmes that influence public behaviour and build community ownership. While many cities focus on technical measures such as cool roofs, green infrastructure and reflective surfaces, the report stresses that these work best when paired with socially grounded initiatives.

One example is the introduction of climate-resilient schoolyards, inspired by the OASIS model, which redesign playgrounds with shade, trees and permeable surfaces to create cooler environments. Teachers, children and parents are involved throughout the process to build awareness and shared responsibility. Brown noted that these projects “extend beyond the physical environment to shape culture and awareness.”

Pilot projects across the city show that the most durable results come from integrating social engagement, design and environmental performance from the outset.

“The strongest results arise where social participation, technical design, and environmental performance are treated as one system rather than separate workstreams,” Brown said.

The report says that cities beginning this journey do not need new structures or large budgets. Athens’ early measures included basic heat protocols, coordinated welfare checks and partnerships with community organisations to support vulnerable residents during heat events. Over time, this has grown into more formal governance, including year-round roles dedicated to heat resilience.

However, the report acknowledges that governance challenges remain. Heat-related activities often rely on short-term project funding rather than stable municipal investment.

“For the long term, greater institutional stability–through clear mandates, secured financing, and permanent interdepartmental working groups–would help ensure that heat governance becomes embedded in the city’s day-to-day management rather than reliant on external projects or political will,” she added.

The publication positions Athens as a city that has advanced from one-off pilots to a more systemic model of heat resilience. It concludes that if other cities adopt dedicated leadership, embed heat into long-term planning and invest in both physical and social adaptation measures, extreme heat can be addressed through practical, community-driven solutions rather than emergency response alone.

Main image: Bruce Whittingham | Dreamstime.com