Informal settlements in Greece: The mystery of missing information and the difficulty of their integration into a legal framework

SUMMARY According to the rough available statistics, it is estimated that approximately 25% of the housing construction in Greece has informalities. However, informal settlements in Greece are unlike such settlements in poorer countries (informal settlements in poorer countries are apt to be in large ”slum-like” communities where the very poor people have established settlements with whatever materials may be available). The most common informality in Greece on the other hand, is construction on small, legally-owned land parcels, in areas having no formal urban plan, which is often accomplished simply by proceeding without building licenses. The existing informalities resulted from various causes, among them insufficient spatial planning, old and complex legislation, lack of housing policy, bureaucracy, and outdated public administration structure. The state attempts to integrate these informal settlements into a legal status by extending the formal urban plans, but this is a costly and time consuming procedure. This paper investigates the development of informal settlements in the Hellenic state, makes a distinction between the situation in Greece in comparison to other countries, identifies and classifies the causes, the infrastructure, the land policy, and the major problems these informalities create in land management, environmental protection, the land market, and finally to the national economy. A categorization of the informalities and their impact on the modern society is attempted. Emphasis is given to the close interrelationship between land management and land administration in dealing with this issue. Proposals are suggested for the necessary initiatives to be taken by experts and the government in order to identify new tools, mechanisms, policy, legislation, and the role of the private sector in land management in Greece. Measures must be taken to give a realistic and sustainable solution to the existing problem, to discourage the creation of new problems, to unlock the land market to meet the needs of the local and international environment, and to realize the expected social and economic benefits from the Hellenic Cadastre Project. The experience derived from the situation in Greece is expected to be of some value to the countries in the broader region of Eastern Europe and North Africa who experience similar situations. An exchange of information and knowledge is encouraged.