The Future of Central Urban Areas – Sustainable Planning and Design Perspectives from Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract

European cities such as Thessaloniki and Hanover are facing major transformations and continue to experience increasing challenges today, such as the Covid-19 pandemic or the financial crisis. Current challenges among European cities present similarities but also differentiations and local specificities. Different theats intensified structural upheavals and impacted various sectors, such as health, retail, labour and mobility. Therefore, a number of these challenges are exacerbated. The publication summarises the contributions of a Summer School 2023 in Thessaloniki that focused on „The future of central urban areas of Thessaloniki“ and the discussion of approaches and strategies coping with some of the above mentioned challenges in central urban areas. The Summer School is a central cornerstone of the University partnership for joint educational and research activities at the Leibniz University of Hanover (Faculty of Architecture and Landscape, Institute of environmental planning) and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – AUTH (Faculty of Engineering, School of Architecture). It is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as part of the project “Centres of the Future“ (FutureCentres).