A critical overview of the relationship between urban planning and land usesystemin Greece: evolution, challenges and thoughts for the future

Abstract

Land uses are a key pillar of urban planning. They are -at the same time- an analytical tool of urban planning for the identification of the basic functional structure of the space, a synthetic tool linked to the practice of urban planning and the know-how for the formulation of urban plans as well as a normative tool for the control of urban development. Despite the relative stability of land uses in historical periods, the interaction of technological and economic factors gradually leads to the need for their readjustment. In Greece, the institution of land uses changes almost parallel to the main time periods of urban planning, its content and its characteristics. Nowadays, land uses are regulated mainly by the Presidential Decree 59/2018. However, their classification is through time an empirical process that is completely disconnected from the development of not only a theoretical framework for land use analysis and planning, but also a methodology with clear criteria leading to simple and general rules of codification. This paper aims, through the critical evaluation of the long-term evolution of the land use system in Greece and the focus on the current state of the land use institution, to highlight the weaknesses of the land use system and make suggestions for its improvement. The common -conceptual and methodological- demarcation and classification of uses based on epistemological criteria is going to contribute to the optimization of the functions of urban planning and control of urban development.