Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students:
- will have become familiar with the legal framework of spatial planning and environmental protection in Greece
- will have been trained in the formulation of a regional development plan that incorporates natural environment requirements into spatial policy.
- will have understood the main theoretical/methodological approaches/issues related to the integration of the environmental component in the regional scale spatial planning.
- will be able to recognize the competitive but also the complementary relationship between economic development and environmental protection
- will have been trained in the design and the evaluation of sustainability indicator systems
Course Content (Syllabus)
The basic concepts/principles of spatial planning are analyzed together with environmental management issues. Special focus is put on the legal framework and spatial planning instruments in Greece, such as: levels of spatial planning, organizational aspects, institutions, laws and procedures.
The course also deals with regional policy issues with special emphasis on their environmental implications (environmental impacts of regional policies, associated environmental pressures, using sustainability indicators to analyze these impacts)
The spatial units that are used in the analysis represent areas with specific spatial and environmental characteristics, such as: (a) coastal areas, (b) mountainous areas, (c) protected areas, (d) river basins, etc.
Project assignment: Group work on a project with two distinct stages: (a) assessment of the current situation within the study area (development status, regional planning policy, environmental problems, etc.), (b) Final proposal for spatial organization.