Egaleo at a glance:  

Egaleo is a densely populated municipality in the Western Athens metropolitan area, sharing the historic Elaionas industrial zone with the City of Athens. One of the oldest municipalities in Greece, Egaleo developed along both sides of the ancient Iera Odos, a route of major historical and cultural significance. Covering an area of just 6.45 km², the municipality is home to approximately 70,000 inhabitants (Census 2021), reflecting its high urban density. Egaleo employs around 900 municipal staff and operates with an annual budget of approximately €75 million. The municipality also hosts the University of West Attica and is served by three metro stations, making it an important urban, educational, and transport hub within the Athens region. 

Key challenges: 

• Rising climate risks, including wildfires and heatwaves, have increasingly affected vulnerable communities in recent years. 

• Limited detail in current risk assessments makes it difficult to fully understand climate hazards in dense urban areas. 

• Existing tools struggle to test “what-if” scenarios, such as nature-based measures, to see how they could reduce heat, fire spread, and impacts on communities. 

• The TOGETHER Way Forward: 

• Create an urban climate digital twin that reflects local risks and vulnerabilities and helps communities explore “what-if” solutions, including nature-based measures. 

• Build shared preparedness routines by bringing municipal services together for joint drills and coordinated actions for heatwaves and wildfires. 

• Boost local stakeholder synergies through the Egaleo DRMIH, enabling joint testing of ideas, improved communication, and stronger everyday preparedness. 

Stakeholders involved:  

• DRMIH lead: Municipality of Egaleo 

• Partners: Disaster management agencies, Civil protection, First responders, Observatory services, University, NGO, Volunteer association, Environmental Civil Societies   

The first Living Lab in Egaleo

Check out more about the first LL in Egaleo!