Filothei and Palaio Psychiko- Galatsi and Kypseli

Through this route, one can get to know a very large part of the city’s urban and social history. Filothei and Palaio Psychiko districts belong to the first attempts to create a garden city in Athens, so the houses are sparse and green predominates. Residences are mostly the luxurious homes of high income residents. On the other side of the hill is Galatsi, a middle-income district that was aggressively developed in the last decades of the 20th century. This area is a prime example of the rapid expansion of Athens in the second half of the 20th century, with an emphasis on the number of buildings,  rather than aesthetic quality. Continuing south to Kypseli, we see a neighbourhood where many artists and other prominent personalities of the country once lived. The architecturally interesting old houses and blocks of flats still retain the imprint of the Kypseli period of prosperity, which lasted until the law of the contractual consideration (antiparochi), and later the increase of structure density by the junta, created a densely built and crowded urban environment. This resulted in a reduction of the quality of life and a deterioration of the neighbourhood. Today, few remain who are the old residents of Kypseli. Most of the original residents have moved to more robust districts to the north, such as Kifissia. The majority of today’s residents are of middle and low income, and many residents are immigrants, who filled the gap left by the old inhabitants of Kypseli.