Search

This article explores the role of the Greek State in post-crisis special-purpose planning concerning public land redevelopment. It assesses its planning practices and their impact on the planning flexibility. The empirical research focuses on two projects of national importance in railway property and the planning instruments that were established during the planning reform in the aftermath of the fiscal crisis. The findings highlight the dual role of the State as over-regulator and enabler of planning as well as the failure of the planning reform to modernise the State’s planning practice and mitigate domestic weaknesses like overregulation and administrative deficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European urban policies focus on sustainable urban mobility concept. This is linked to the constraint of motorized transport and the promotion of active-mobility modes (walking, cycling) which contribute to Green House Gas reduction targets as set in the European Union (EU) Climate Policy. Especially, walkable neighborhoods and 15-minute cities have been embraced in the post-pandemic city emphasizing the importance of walkability, which re-conciliates environmental concerns with liveable, sustainable and healthier communities. This research aims to construct a “walkability index” (WI) that may offer significant, reliable and quick results for the assessment of walkability in an urban area. The city of Larissa comprises the empirical field for its application. The index methodology is based on five main parameters: land use mix, residential density, pedestrian crossing connectivity, sidewalk condition and pedestrian-friendly areas. Then Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is implemented so as to weigh the selected parameters and finally the parameters multiplied and added in an equation f(x) with the use of ArcGIS Pro software. WI detects friendly-walking and non-friendly-walking areas and assesses the factors that hinder urban mobility and vulnerable people. Therefore, it may help policy makers and urban planners to build sustainable and healthy cities and improve the quality of life.

The article explores the relationship between urban sprawl and the urban system. Urban sprawl is not considered to be a static, unsustainable urban form, but rather a dynamic process of urban deconcentration through which the urban structure evolves. After identifying the main characteristics of urban sprawl, this article investigates the connection between urban sprawl and the urban system through the concept of polycentricity. Finally, the two-way relationship between urban sprawl and the urban system is highlighted. Based on the above, an integrated theoretical, conceptual and methodological framework is formulated. A key finding was the emergence of ‘small-scale’ polycentricity, which implies increasing monocentricity over a wider spatial area. This raises questions over the distinction between the negative phenomenon of urban sprawl and sustainable polycentric forms, and points out a need to review the explanatory devices and theories used in spatial analysis and planning. Empirical evidence was extracted from Thessaloniki’s Influence Area.

The paper examines the restructuring of local-level spatial planning in Greece during and after the crisis period. It analyses the reform paths that were developed and assesses the directions of change concerning the scope of planning, the actors and the practices. The paper concludes that the orientation has turned towards special-purpose planning, the privatisation of planning powers, and the transfer of planning power to the central state. However, despite these shifts, the domestic local-level planning maintains its long trends, such as clientelism and conformative approach, making the trajectory of planning unpredictable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]