Hotel City Plaza

is located in central Athens. The hotel, under private ownership, had been closed due to the economic crisis. According to our interviews, it had become derelict and badly damaged due to the presence of homeless persons and drug dealing. In 2015 a group of activists took over the hotel, did some rehabilitation work, and shortly afterwards invited refugees to use it as a residence. Since then it has evolved into a cooperatively-run operation, where residents cook communally, but otherwise lead separate lives with a great deal of privacy. Whatever one’s political outlook, our interviews and visits gave us the impression the Hotel City Plaza  offers its refugee tenants a degree of autonomy and hope lacking in most refugee housing. However, the use of the site is currently being contested in court by the property owner, so the long-term outlook is uncertain, at best.