A new approach to spatial planning in Greece

Abstract

The main objective is to show the impediments currently present in spatial planning and to suggest directions for the implementation of a con-temporal spatial policy. For this reason a short review of the evolution of spatial planning in the Hellenic Republic is presented and the primary malfunctions are identified with respect to the “polyphony” of spatial plans, the need for integration in planning simultaneously with the process of specialization from the higher levels of planning towards finer scale plans and, finally, the need to functionally join spatial planning and sectoral policies with spatial impacts. For the documentation of these issues a reference is made to law provisions but also to issues emerging from Hellenic Supreme Court decisions where the “dead-end” of planning becomes obvious along with the necessity for an additional coordination mechanism, that will act as the “Spatial Planning Supreme Council” and the simplification of planning tools in order to more efficiently tackle issues that where left pending by the previous development model.