The present and future of the Greek urban landscape

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the evolution of urban forms and landscapes; it investigates the specific characteristics of the Greek cities and the parameters having a critical impact on their landscape formation and transformation. As such are examined: (a) the socio-economic processes; (b) the successive development and redevelopment of urban areas and the various layers of landscapes generated over time; (c) the established global design trends that tend to ho-mogenize the landscape of cities. The analysis of the Greek case study cities points first the conditions that generated the urban landscapes in the last decades, and then, the parameters nowadays affecting the urban landscapes and structure and image. In the conclusions, the paper attempts to make a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the present and future trends.