Τypology of Greek cities on spatial criteria of regional gravity

Abstract

In contemporary times, cities-and the greater area around them-are increasingly recognized as principal areas assembling production activities, main functions and population. At the same time, perceptions of "urban development" are in the process of being redefined. In this process, the classification of settlements/cities becomes necessary and acquires special gravity for development and spatial planning. In Greece despite efforts made at times- the typology of cities still relies on methods that have been considered obsolete for some decades and takes into account outdated criteria.

In this national context, and on the occasion of an overall speculation on typology issues that has been prevalent at European and international levels, it is attempted to formulate a new proposal about the typology of Greek cities that would be based on the evaluation of their national/international and regional/prefectural gravity. Coestimating/correlating a series of strong typological criteria, allowing qualitative and quantitative assessments of spatial dynamics and intra- /interregional gravity of cities, the proposal aspires to introduce a new dimension into the perception of the Greek urban network typology. The aim is to formulate a new "methodological tool", eligible to be the "starting point" for the implementation of a new model framework to classify Greek cities.