Limassol
Limassol - Public space and municipal offices on the street of Anexartisias
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The city of Limassol is located in the southernmost point of the island, it is the largest port in Cyprus and has a population of over 180,000. It is the base of the 3rd largest merchant navy in Europe and its population is made up roughly of 80% Greek Cypriots and 20% foreign nationals with the largest minorities being Romanian, British, Greek, Russian and Bulgarian. The city also hold a substantial service sector, industry and tourism. Limassol, however, was a fairly small town until modern times; described as "a miserable town of 150 mud houses" in 1820, it has changed to drastically over the past 200 years to gain a reputation as "the city that never sleeps". The medieval core of the city was established in the early 12th century following Richard the Lionheart's destruction of the nearby ancient city of Amathus, but the city only expanded during the latter part of the Ottoman rule in the second half of the 19th century; at this time the Turkish population largely lived in the area west of the river Garyllis, a poorer area had developed around the port and fort, while the wealthier Greek classes lived to the north of the centre around the church of Katholiki - the commercial centre during Ottoman times was to be found along the street of Agkyras, but by the end of the 19th century it had shifted west along the street of Agiou Andreou. Much of the urban infrastructure, including the paving of old pathways connecting to surrounding villages and the construction of new roads was implemented during the city's life as a British protectorate. The English community largely established itself at the eastern end of the town, around the commissioner's house and the newly-built public gardens. Following World War II, the city developed substantially and has seen the construction of two ring roads and the motorway with cycles of densification taking place over the decades to eventually include the old surrounding villages in its conurbation. Most recently, the city has seen the redevelopment of its old port and the construction of a new, central marina just to the west of the port.
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The development of the street network
The images below show the development of Limassol's street network between 1883 and 2011. The analysis identifies street segments which have high accessibility values at the whole city-scale and at a local scale of 1200m radius - this is considered the multi-scale core of the city and it can be noted that over time this gets more fragmented, shifts to the north and the west of the city and gets to comprise the inner and outer ring roads while 'moving out' of the historical core. The analysis is based on space syntax methodology.
The images below show the development of Limassol's street network between 1883 and 2011. The analysis identifies street segments which have high accessibility values at the whole city-scale and at a local scale of 1200m radius - this is considered the multi-scale core of the city and it can be noted that over time this gets more fragmented, shifts to the north and the west of the city and gets to comprise the inner and outer ring roads while 'moving out' of the historical core. The analysis is based on space syntax methodology.
Multi-scale analysis of Limassol's street network
Data
We have collected land use and movement data (pedestrians, vehicles and bicycles) for a stretch of the streets of Anexartisias and Makariou in February 2014. The image below shows a summary of land use and pedestrian movement during the lunchtime period. If you would like further details about these data, please contact us.
We have collected land use and movement data (pedestrians, vehicles and bicycles) for a stretch of the streets of Anexartisias and Makariou in February 2014. The image below shows a summary of land use and pedestrian movement during the lunchtime period. If you would like further details about these data, please contact us.
Land use and pedestrian movement on Anexartisias and Makariou during the lunchtime period, February 2014
Maps
At present we are unable to display map images due to copyright reasons, however the following maps are available from the listed sources:
At present we are unable to display map images due to copyright reasons, however the following maps are available from the listed sources:
- 1849 - Admiralty chart of Limassol, drawn by Lieut. Lort John T. Browne (survey by Capt T. Graves. Admiralty Chart 2074. 3.5 sea miles to one inch). Source: National Archives, London.
- 1883 - Kitchener's Survey of Cyprus. Large scale plan (1 : 2500 – in index of book, 1/2000 on the map index itself) dated 16.02.1883. Source: Rodney, S. (2001) Kitchener’s Survey of Cyprus 1878 – 1883.The First Full Triangulated Survey and Mapping of the Island, The Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, Nicosia 2001, p. 52.
- 1933 - Plan of Limassol 8 inches to 1 mile. Cyprus Department of Land Registrations and Surveys (under UK administration). Source: British Library.
- 1947 - Tourist map of Limassol (city centre). Source: Mangoian, L., & Mangoian, H. A. (1947). The Island of Cyprus. An Illustrated Guide and Handbook. Nicosia: Mangoian Bros.
- 1960 - Plan of Limassol 1958 revised 1960 from aerial photographs; 1:10,000. UK Department of Survey, War Office and Air Ministry. Source: British Library.
- 1974 - Map of Limassol, 1:10,000. Compiled by Fairey Surveys Ltd. for the Great Britain Director of Military Suvey. Source: U.S. Library of Congress.
- 1974 - Tourist map of Limassol (city centre). Source: Milliex, R (1974) Cyprus (Geneva: Nagel Publishers).
- 1987 - Map of Limassol in two sheets, east and west, 1:7,500. Source: Cyprus Department of Land and Surveys.
- 2003 - Map of Limassol in two sheets, east and west, 1:7,500. Source: Cyprus Department of Land and Surveys.
- 2011 - Map of Limassol, one sheet, 1:10,500. Source: Centre of Studies, Research and Publications; SELAS Ltd.
Bibliography
- Charalambous, N., & Geddes, I. (2015). Spatial memory and shifting centrality. In Vaughan, L (Ed.) Suburban Urbanites. London: University College London Press.
- Geddes, I. (2014). From "a miserable town of 150 mud houses" to "the city that never sleeps": Limassol's urban development over the past 200 years. Paper presented at the 21st International Seminar on Urban Form, Porto.
- Geddes, I. (2017). Limassol as a social assemblage: a diachronic analysis of its urban form. PhD Thesis, University of Cyprus.
- Geddes, I. & Charalambous, N. (2017). Building a timeline, developing a narrative: visualising fringe belt formation alongside street network development. Paper presented at the 24th ISUF International Conference, Valencia.
- Gerasimou, S., & Georgoudis, M. (2011). Sustainable Mobility in Cyprus: the city of Limassol. In A. Pratelli & C. A. Brebbia (Eds.), Urban Transport XVII: Urban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century: Wit Press.
- Kritioti, M. (1988). Limassol, a town in transition. (MSc Advanced Architectural Studies), University College London.
- Πηλαβάκης, Κ. Α. (1977). Η Λεμεσός σ’ άλλους καιρούς, Λεμεσός: Εκδόσεις Ονήσιλος. Trans: Pilavakis, C. Α. (1977). Limassol in another age. Limassol: Onisilos Publications.
- Σεργίδης, Χ. (2012) Λεμεσός, οινοπόλεως μέστωμα. Λεμεσός: Εκδόσεις Αφή. Trans: Serghides, C. (2012). Limassol. Maturity of a wine city. Limassol: Afi Publications.
- Severis, R. C. (2006). Limassol, a town of visionaries: Hellenic Bank.
- Town Planning Department (2013). Limassol Local Plan. Nicosia: Ministry of Interior and Town Planning Department.
Lead Contributors: Ilaria Geddes and Nadia Charalambous