The two most beautiful, most touristic, but also the most problematic urban development areas of the country are embarking on the path of urban development. Relevant contracts for Santorini and Mykonos were signed in the summer and for this reason Ministry of the Environment extended until the summer of 2023 the suspension of the construction of new tourist facilities on unplanned sites.

The task for the Ministry of the Environment is a great one, as the city plans of the two islands will not only have to confirm the current anarchic situation, but also set strict limits to protect what is left, which is a challenge in areas with higher land values ​​in Greece.

Two development contracts Special Urban Plans (EPS) were signed on August 8 by the Technical Chamber, which, on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment, took over the urban planning program funded by the Recovery Fund. The two contracts were awarded by the same research group (managed by Samaras & Associates S.A.). Two days later, Deputy Environment Minister Nikos Tagaras extended for another year the suspension of construction, first introduced in August 2020, for tourism facilities in unplanned areas on the two islands.

The suspension of the construction of new tourist facilities in the undeveloped territories of the two islands has been extended until the summer of 2023.

The choice of drawing up instead of local urban plans (these are two different urban “models”) on the two islands was made to speed up the completion of planning (14 months under the contract). Under the two contracts, the NES in Mykonos and Santorini “may act as recipients of plans, projects and programs of supra-local or strategic importance. At the same time, there is a need for the state to complete first-level urban planning as soon as possible due to acute spatial problems that require immediate resolution or the prevention of a fait accompli that is due to the absence or inadequacy of urban planning ”(although on both islands the intention to avoid a fait accompli will come … belatedly as at least 30 years).

These two islands are certainly not a blank sheet of paper in terms of urban planning: in Mykonos, part of the island has been covered by a residential control zone since 2005 (which is actively bypassed), while part of Santorini, mainly the Caldera area, is illuminated (albeit not enough, as has been proven in recent years) by a presidential decree, the first of 1990, the second of 2012. There are many questions, the main one being circumvention of any restrictions on unplanned development and “overcrowding” of settlements.

Panagiotis Voulellis is an urban planner who, together with ELLET and the NTUA School of Urban Planning Studies, produced a capacity study on behalf of the Municipality of Thira. “Santorini and Mykonos,” he says, “have a unique opportunity to protect the territories they want and lay the foundation for sustainable tourism development while protecting the territory from the effects of climate change. The challenge is to get the residents and business people of the two islands to participate in the urban planning process and accept that imposing limits based on the capacity of each island will lead to much more economic development. This cannot be achieved without a halt to unscheduled construction, with the exception of limited strategic investment programs and the construction of social housing. I think conditions have matured in recent years.”