Recycling urban wastelands in Greek cities. Challenges and opportunities

Abstract

In the context of socio-economic development and the degradation of the modern city and its inhabitant’s quality of life, the regeneration of every available urban void can lead to better urban environments. The existence of wastelands of any scale, inside and outside the urban fabric leads to urban discontinuity, disorientation and shrinking of space. In the context of the regeneration of the urban fabric and the revitalization of cities, these "dormant" spaces, present various dynamics, and possibilities through the redefinition of their identity and their reintegration into the city’s form, function, and structure. The current paper examines with the use the case studies the regeneration process of wastelands in Greece. As wastelands integration, their new role and their implementation procedures is a subject of public discussion as the 2009 economic crisis led to new tools for their regeneration the paper with the analysis of two case studies will examine the procedures and the results of wastelands regeneration in Greece. It will evaluate the role the existing spatial planning framework and it will investigate the factors that define the processes and procedures of wastelands regeneration and their effectiveness in order to make these areas new sustainable zones in the urban tissue.