The “Bankruptcy” of the Greek Cities. Neoliberalisation and the Urban Landscapes in the Age of the Crisis

Abstract

This paper applies the metaphor of the Sisyphean myth to analyse Greek urban politics from the early 1990s to the present, focusing on how neoliberalisation and crisis dynamics have shaped urban landscapes. It situates Greece’s debt crisis within a broader systemic crisis of over-accumulation and under-consumption that emerged from neoliberal reforms in the 1970s. For Greece, integration into the European Community and adoption of free-market policies accelerated urban competition, place marketing, and entrepreneurial governance. Debt-financed projects and spectacular events, such as the 2004 Olympic Games, exemplified these trajectories while exacerbating fiscal vulnerabilities. The paper argues that the “bankruptcy” of Greek cities reflects both structural deficiencies and the socio-spatial dynamics of the European Union, revealing the intertwined nature of neoliberalism, debt, and urban transformation in Greece.