THE GROWTH POLES STRATEGY IN REGIONAL PLANNING: THE RECENT EXPERIENCE OF GREECE

In recent years, there has been an attempt to stimulate the developmental role of urban centres in Greece in the context of regional and spatial planning. In essence, through the recent basic programming texts for the periods 2000-2006 and 2007-2013, the growth poles strategy has once again been exploited in the development programming. This paper attempts initially to describe the new growth poles strategy through the aforementioned programming texts, and then to present the ensuing problems, as well as to outline the emerging capabilities of planning regarding growth poles in Greece. The main conclusions of the research refer to the lack of a fixed typology, which is based on a specific methodology that could form a hierarchical categorization of urban concentrations through clear, long-term criteria. They also refer to a relative weakness in the planning and implementation of urban development policy, as part of regional programming. The absence of a systematic investigation of the role of particular concentrations in the growth process at regional, national and broader level is also a key-conclusion. The formulation of necessary supplementary policies, as well as the administrative organisation issues of the country’s large cities, are of main importance too.Urban Development, Growth Poles and Axes, Regional and Spatial Planning, Greece.

EU-Supported Regional Development After 2007: Lessons Learnt and Future Priorities of the Greek Regions Falling Under the New "Competitiveness" Objective Programmes

Next year (2007) is expected to be a milestone for the regional policy of Greece. For the first time since the EU launched the programmes which are co-funded by the Structural Funds, Greek regions are excluded from the Objective 1 “Convergence†programmes of the 2007-2013 programming period. Two regions, Sterea Ellada and Southern Aegean have been included in the phasing - in group of NUTS II regions which are falling under the new “Regional Competitiveness and Employment†objective since they have exceeded the 75% boundary of the GDP per capita of the EU both in relation with the older 15 and the 25 current member states. Hence, apart from the reduction funding compared to the current period, they are obliged to redefine their developmental priorities and to adjust the programming context according to the new circumstances in line with the Lisbon and Gothenburg objectives. Within this context the preparation calls for the adjustment to the new circumstances and the exploration of the most efficient way to continue and empower the developmental path. In addition to these, some important matters such as the actual developmental position of these regions, the sectors where cohesion hasn’t been achieved, the new challenges and the experience that has been gained and to what extent it is being used as a learning process have to be explored The article aims to contribute to the ongoing conversation regarding the ways by which Sterea Ellada and Southern Aegean regions can utilize the Structural Funds in the new programming period, based on their experience until today, but also on the possibilities which they are being offered as “phasing – in†regions of the “Competitiveness and Employment†objective according to the new context of regional policy. To these directions, the general outlines of the future perspectives of the regional priorities of the European Union will be presented initially, both for the current and the next programming period. A comparative description of the socio-economic position of the two regions within the European Union is given next, followed by a discussion of the current programming experience and some implementation issues and lessons learnt. Finally, suggestions and some policy priorities as well as the conclusions of the analysis will be presented.

Spatial cohesion in Greece: the impact of GDP revision in the measurement of spatial inequalities in Greece and policy dimensions

Το άρθρο περιλαμβάνει μια συγκριτική ανάλυ-ση της μέτρησης των χωρικών ανισοτήτων (σεπεριφερειακό και νομαρχιακό επίπεδο) της Ελ-λάδας, πριν και μετά την τελευταία αναθεώρησητου ΑΕΠ. Κύριος στόχος είναι να προσδιορισθείο βαθμός και το περιεχόμενο της μεταβολής τωνανισοτήτων μετά την αναθεώρηση, προκειμένουνα αξιολογηθεί η νέα κατάσταση και να τεθεί η πε-ριφερειακή πολιτική στις σωστές της διαστάσεις.Η ανάλυση βασίζεται σε στοιχεία ΑΕΠ (συνολικούκαι κατά κεφαλήν), για τα έτη 2003 και 2001, πρινκαι μετά την αναθεώρηση, καθώς επίσης και τουπληθυσμού της τελευταίας απογραφής της ΕΣΥΕ.Η στατιστική επεξεργασία γίνεται με τη χρήση ει-δικών μεθόδων περιφερειακής ανάλυσης για τηδιερεύνηση των χωρικών ανισοτήτων. Το συμπέ-ρασμα που προκύπτει, είναι ότι η αναθεώρησηέχει επηρεάσει τις χωρικές ανισότητες της Ελλάδαςκαι συνεπώς, η περιφερειακή πολιτική θα πρέπεινα προσαρμοσθεί κατάλληλα στις νέες συνθήκες.The paper provides a systematic comparativeexploration of the measurement of spatial inequalitiesin Greece, at regional and prefecturallevel, before and after the last GDP revision.The aim is to determine the rate and the contentof change in spatial inequalities - towardseither an increase or decline - after the revision,so as to evaluate the new situation andset regional policy in its proper dimensions.The analysis is based on the examination ofGDP data (total and per capita) for the years2003 and 2001, before and after the revision,as well as on population derived from the lastCensus (2001). The paper uses statistical methodsof regional analysis for the exploration ofspatial inequalities. The main conclusion isthat the spatial disparities have been affectedfrom the revision in a remarkable degree andtherefore the regional policy must be suitablyadapted in the new conditions

Port activity evolution: the initial impact of economic crisis on major Greek ports

The objective of this study is the quantitative analysis of recent developments in transport activity of the main Greek ports (Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Patra), in order to establish clusters of various transport load and time groups of growth and decline of the transport activity, regarding the period 2002–2010. From this latter approach, the investigation of any impact of the economic crisis in the evolution of transport activity can be explored. The methodology used is based on forming clusters, to identify growth-recession periods, and groups of determining transport categories. Methods used are: Principal Component Analysis, Factor Analysis and Cluster Analysis. The results show that the major port of Piraeus activity’s evolution can be represented by two distinct periods. A growth period (2002–2004) which is related to the Olympic Games of 2004 and an instability period of the transport activity’s evolution, which follows. The last 3 years a decrease for most of the transport activities has been encountered, due to the economic crisis. Considering the three main ports of the country, as a unit we realize a slightly differentiated picture, since, despite a distinct last period of decline, we cannot certainly shape the claim that during the previous years there is a strong positive influence in the other two ports by a developmental event like the Olympic Games. These findings could mean that the spatial developmental impact of the Olympic Games limited at the regional level. However the main findings for the Piraeus’ port, mentioned beforehand, are still valid. A general conclusion, regarding the prerequisites of the increased competitiveness and efficiency of ports, refers to the investments in modern infrastructure, services and systems administration, the transport management in Greek ports and the development of a combined transport system. Document type: Articl

Transport cost in location practice and economic geography:traditional theories, some new dimensions and policy implications

abstract. This paper outlines the main theoretical approaches to the role of transport in spatial organization and investigates possible new extensions at a theoretical and practical level, focusing on the analysis of transport cost. Beginning from the traditional theories of spatial distribution and the location of economic activities under transport cost, the analysis focuses on the related approaches of the new economic geography, which are based on the assumptions of the known "iceberg cost". After that, through the presentation of indicative empirical studies, the paper attempts to clarify new issues that should be taken into account in the relevant theoretical considerations as well as in the political practice. Thus, factors such as the change of production structure in the modern economies with the production of more quality products, lower mass, and higher relative value and intangible goods, in combination with the improved transport technology, have contributed to a continuous reduction of the transport cost of raw materials and productive goods over the years. These developments along with the growing importance of cost of moving people should be taken into account in the new theoretical interrogations and the political practice of regional and urban development. contents

The coastal shipping network in Greek insular space : reorganising it towards a “Hub and Spoke” system using matrices of flows and connectivity matrices

This paper is based on the analysis of interinsular relations that have been shaped according to the existing coastal shipping network in the Greek insular space. It tries to contribute to the effort that was overwhelmed in the past few years for a more systematic investigation of the differentiation of the existing linear model of the coastal shipping network, with its modification into a “hub and spoke” model. The methods of analysis are based on the use of matrices of flows (coastal shipping origin-destination) and connectivity matrices, in which the direct connections are initially taken into consideration followed by the indirect ones between the islands. The insular area of the Kyklades prefecture in the Aegean Sea is the case study. The possible cohesive territorial units in the insular space of Kyklades, as well as the attainable nodal ports that may function in these units, are defined.peer-reviewe

Τhe impact of economic crisis on the regional disparities and the allocation of economic branches in Greek regions

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the changes occurred in regional disparities and sectoral specialization of the Greek regions due to the economic crisis. In this framework, we explore the regional disparities, along with the allocation and specialization of economic sectors in two separate time periods, the pre-crisis period (2000-2007) and the crisis period (2008-2014). The variable used is regional employment in the branches of economic activity. The methods used are Coefficient of Variation, Location Quotients and Shift-Share Analysis. According to the results, we classify the spatial units into categories and we propose means of regional policy. The results show that the disparities increased during the first period and declined in the next period of crisis, without however reaching the levels of 2000. In the first period the dynamic economic sectors are concentrated mainly in the metropolitan region of Attiki and in the insular region of Notio Aigaio, while local advantages are shown in several regions except Attiki. During the period of crisis Attiki and Notio Aigaio have lost their sectoral dynamism, while few regions resist. Regarding the local share effects, the more urbanized regions show negative local shares. The rest of regions exhibit local advantages

Opportunities and restrictions for the local-endogenous development in metropolitan areas of high industrial concentration: the case of Thriasio Pedio in Attica

This paper investigates the development pattern of the urban area of Thriasio Pedio in the metropolitan region of Attica, which is characterised by a high concentration of industrial activities. The local-endogenous development model is discussed in the theoretical review of the paper, in the sense of the local socioeconomic system’s capacity to transform, react to external challenges, promote awareness and import specific forms of social regulation at the local level.On this ground, the main question of the paper concerns the nature of the area’s development and more specifically, whether or not this is defined by endogenous factors (i.e. the operation of locally embedded production systems) along with predetermined exogenous factors (i.e. the allocation of central/metropolitan activities in Thriasio Pedio). The study is supported by the results of a sampling research in representative economic units of the Thriasio Pedio area. The analysis helped us to see whether the various applications of the local-endogenous development pattern, as defined in the paper, are incorporated into the overall productive system of the area. The prerequisites for the reinforcement of the local endogenous capacity were also identified in this analysis