The focus of this special issue is Greece, a member of the European Union located ‘at the corner of Europe’, in a region experiencing geopolitical tensions and the effects of a prolonged economic crisis. Τhe constitution of 1975 established spatial planning as an obligation of the state triggering a process of enacting new legislation over the following decades. However, it was not until after 2000, and under the influence of European Union policies, that planning activity took place across all geographical scales shaping a rational – comprehensive planning system. The turbulence of the economic crisis at the end of the 2000 decade led to legislative reforms aimed at a more flexible and efficient spatial planning process.
Currently, in Greece, the redrafting of plans on a national and regional scale is under way, along with the elaboration of the first maritime spatial plan. The Ministry of the Environment and Energy has also launched an ambitious programme to cover the entire national territory with new local urban plans. In addition, the programme includes ad hoc special urban plans.
Global issues, such as climate change or the energy crisis, are expected to influence spatial policy. Resilience is emerging as a new important concept providing a framework to reconsider planning as a means to deal with slow or sudden changes of different forms. A number of municipalities are experimenting with the introduction of new smart technologies.
A number of key questions have to be answered: What is the impact of political, economic, and environmental crises on planning? Will planning reform lead to a more resilient Greece? What are the current trends and future perspectives of the theory and practice of spatial planning in Greece?
The current economic and social conjuncture in Europe provides a framework to explore new and old challenges that planning in Greece is called upon to address. The following could be dealt with in papers submitted for inclusion in the theme issue:
- Strategic and regulatory planning.
- Adaptability, certainty and/or flexibility in regulatory planning.
- Law safety, citizens’ rights and spatial planning.
- Production of new local and special urban plans and emerging issues.
- Urban interventions and project-led planning.
- Climate change, natural disasters, resilience and spatial planning.
- Impact of digital technologies on spatial planning and smart cities.
- Participatory "bottom-up" planning and impeding factors.
- Minority groups, refugees, economic migrants and spatial planning.
- State of planning legislation and code of planning law.
- Out-of-plan and unauthorized land development.
- Archaeological sites, historic towns and spatial planning.
- Maritime planning and blue economy.
- Current needs to reconsider studies in spatial planning.
- Reform of spatial planning education.
- The impact of EU policies on spatial planning.
The special theme issue may also include contributions covering theoretical issues and planning practice in an effort to provide an integrated perspective from the ‘Global South’.
