According to Rem Koolhaas, Coney Island’s theme parks have become a reproduction of the city itself, an anecdoteof the city. They have adopted urban elements and with their inner structure based on technology and representation, have managed to provide an answer to the massive demand for entertainment and a way of escaping from the routine of everyday life. They construct a new hyper realistic world, whereby they turn spectators into protagonists of the readymade experiences they provide. Representations and symbols compose the main elements of their success and contribute to the creation of a whole new vivid experience, a new type of theatrical play. The city itself is now trying to find its own identity in order to achieve “Urban Ideal”. As theme parks work like mechanisms of escaping from the boredom of everyday life, the city itself uses the basic elements of the theme parks – representation and symbols – in order to create its own ways of escaping from its inner reality. It has become a continuous incubator of urban spectacles. Parts of the city tend to present a different inner environment from the rest of the city, having different rhythms, functioning in their own tempo or are presented as a sample of an exotic reality. Finally, the city of Athens is examined- presented as an amusement park. The city’s inner parts, which provide alternative urban experiences and recreate the Athenian urban fabric, are presented as a way of producing a new kind of urban spectacle.
