Piraeus on a Sustainable
Development Path
Piraeus on a Sustainable Development Path
2014 marked the beginning of a new and extremely productive period for the Municipality of Piraeus, spearheaded by the planning and implementation of the Integrated Spatial Investment (ISI).
The main characteristics of which are that:
1. It constitutes an integrated and not fragmented Strategy
2. It gives the responsibility for resource management to the city of Piraeus itself and
3. It creates greater flexibility in the use of the resources allocated to it.
A new era of planning and implementation through Integrated Spatial Investment (ISI) – Sustainable Urban Development (SUD)
The Piraeus Municipality's Urban and Regional Development Strategy continues the path set out in previous years by the Municipal Authority, with the aim of responding to a dynamically changing landscape full of opportunities and challenges.
The Municipality of Piraeus, with an emphasis on exploiting its comparative advantages and shaping a competitive and resilient environment, simultaneously promotes the goals of sustainable urban development and ensuring social cohesion.
The Strategy's top priority is to restart the economy by achieving positive growth rates and creating jobs to reduce unemployment rates, which is a necessary and sufficient condition for reducing poverty and ensuring social cohesion.
In particular, through the utilization of promotional activities of the blue and creative economy and tourism, it seeks to contribute to the reversal of the shrinkage of the productive base through the gradual restructuring with the shift to sectors of high added value and low environmental nuisance with the aim of creating jobs, strengthening extroversion, innovative entrepreneurship and the friendly and smart utilization of ICT.
The promotion and integration of innovation (technological and non-technological), cooperation and networking, the utilization of ICT and the creation of structures and mechanisms to support entrepreneurship are the main means to meet the needs. Improving the attractiveness of Attica as a place to live and attract investment, through the protection and sustainable management of the natural and man-made environment and adaptation to climate change.
Ensuring social cohesion is promoted through an "integrated framework" of social protection and empowerment for vulnerable groups and the mitigation of factors that were exacerbated by the crisis and which lead to poverty and social exclusion of significant parts of the population of the Region. These interventions are targeted at the social sub-groups in which disadvantaged individuals are distinguished (vulnerable, disabled and others) and are spatially focused on pockets of degradation.
The vision and goal
The Piraeus Municipality's Urban Resilience Strategy was based on the municipal authority's vision to make Piraeus a modern sustainable city, through the development of the local economy, the improvement of the urban environment, everyday life and quality of life in the city, and the strengthening of social cohesion. This vision was supported, enriched and framed throughout this period by the bodies and citizens of the Municipality of Piraeus through the consultation process that was launched in April 2015 and continues both through electronic consultations (2017) and through in-person meetings.
The governance system
The Spatial Authority was supported during the 2014-2020 Programming Period in its work regarding the management, monitoring, evaluation and revisions of the Strategy by the Directorate for Management of Actions of the Municipality of Piraeus for the Management of the Regional Development and Urban Areas (RDAU). For the new Programming Period, a Coherent Working Group has been foreseen and has already been established (Decision No. 1/2023 of the Spatial Authority) with the responsibilities provided for in the circular of the Ministry of Development and Investments with A.P. 124143/EFSSA/21-12-2022 on the “Guidelines for the selection and design of strategies within the framework of the Regional Development and Urban Areas (RDAU) and the Regional Development and Urban Areas (RDAU)”, which will jointly assist the Spatial Authority in its work with the Regional Development and Urban Areas (RDAU) Department.
For the preparation of the Strategy for 21-27, the Municipality of Piraeus has adopted a multi-level governance scheme since the previous period. The participation of interested partners (Social, Business, Emblematic partners) of the local community in decision-making and the formulation of the city's development policy is considered particularly important.
More specifically, the Urban Authority (now Spatial Authority), which consists of the three partners (Municipality of Piraeus, K.O.D.E.P., DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION), invites the local community (citizens and businessmen of Piraeus) to a consultation, for the prioritization of the needs and challenges faced by the intervention area, with the aim of formulating an effective development policy.
The Action Plan for the implementation of the Piraeus OHE/BAA, which will undertake to manage the multi-level “governance system”, includes the consultation process and the participation of the local community as its essential element. The success of the Action Plan depends on the degree to which the opinions and proposals of citizens and institutions are included throughout the implementation, so that the interventions and actions are in line with the real conditions, have an effective impact on them and bring about the best possible result.
Therefore, the mechanisms and procedures of public consultation constitute part of the broader “governance system” of the Piraeus OHE/BAA. The very "governance" of the Piraeus Municipality's OHE/BAA is governed by the principles of participation, representativeness of Partners, universality, transparency, commitment and evaluation of interventions.
The First Implementation Period (2014–2020)
After all the required conditions were met, the first OHE/BAA of the Municipality of Piraeus was submitted as a proposal to the relevant Call issued by the Attica Region in March 2017, was positively evaluated and approved for funding in March 2018.
Thus, an autonomous Service was established within the Municipality Organization, the OHE/BAA Action Management Directorate (formerly an Independent Department), which was designated by Decision 379/2018 (Government Gazette 789/B/7.3.2018) of the Attica Region as the Intermediate Management Body (IMB) of the Attica 2014-2020 Operational Program for the implementation of the approved OHE/BAA Strategy of Piraeus, with full delegation of management responsibilities.
Based on the above decision, the total amount of €80,465,325 was assigned to the Piraeus Transport Authority, of which the amount of €9,166,000 constitutes direct state aid for entrepreneurial activities.
The New Period 2021–2027
The Integrated Spatial Investment (ISI) for the 2021-2027 period is the tool for implementing a targeted Sustainable Urban Development Strategy, which updates the Spatial and Development Strategy of the 2014-2021 Urban Area and Infrastructure Strategy. The “Directorate for the Management of OCHE/BAA Actions of the Municipality of Piraeus” was re-designated as the Intermediate Body of the “Attica” Program 2021-2027 and the assignment of tasks to the Managing Authority of the “Attica” Program 2021-2027 for the management of Operations other than State Aid for entrepreneurship of the approved Sustainable Urban Development Strategy of the Spatial Authority of the Municipality of Piraeus-KO.DEP, entitled “Integrated Spatial Investment for Sustainable Urban Development (OHE/BAA) Piraeus” of the “Attica” Program 2021-2027.
The Sustainable Urban Development Strategy (SUD) of the Spatial Authority of the Municipality of Piraeus-KODEP-Development Organization, entitled "Integrated Spatial Investment for Sustainable Urban Development (ISU/SUD) of Piraeus", with a Total Public Expenditure budget of €82,000,000.
This Strategy is co-financed by the Greek Regional Development Fund. (European Regional Development Fund) within the framework of Priorities 1 and 5 and by the ESF+ (European Social Fund +) within the framework of Priority 4B of the “Attica” Programme 2021-2027 and completing the “mix” of the Main Spatial Strategic Options of the Sustainable Urban Development Strategy, based on the following Spatial Strategic Options:
Piraeus - Green City
that responds to the major and complex environmental and climate challenges of the era, utilizing "clean" energy technologies in public infrastructure and operations, upgrading the energy efficiency of the building stock, and promoting sustainable urban mobility.
Piraeus - Blue City
which leverages one of the region's key comparative advantages, and places maritime activities and the blue economy at the center of an integrated economic and business development strategy.
Piraeus - Smart City
by developing and adopting new technologies to improve the provision of services to citizens, visitors and businesses, improving everyday life and creating prospects for the development of start-ups.
Piraeus - Resilient City
capable of responding to future threats and the resulting pressures on social, economic and technical systems and infrastructure.
Piraeus of the Citizens
with continuous development of social infrastructure and services accessible and open to all citizens and residents of the city.
To update the OCHE/BAA Strategy for the 2021-2027 P.P., governance tools and mechanisms are adopted to address issues of interoperability of interventions, the repositioning of public infrastructure and functions, the implementation of emblematic interventions, the promotion of landmarks, the promotion of the new development identity of Western Athens, leverage, the promotion of extroversion and the attraction of investments and business activities.
Social inter-municipal networks will continue and expand, while the quality and completeness of social inclusion services will be ensured, through the deepening of social innovation.
Modern, flexible and friendly methods of upgrading and redefining the capabilities of human resources will be promoted, while the continuation of local support mechanisms for the unemployed will be sought, within the framework of thematic inter-municipal networks.
The Main Development Strategic Option of the Sustainable Urban Development Strategy (SUD) for the 2021-2027 P.P. remains the strengthening of "the position of Piraeus as a Sustainable City in the economic and cultural development of the Attica Region, through an inclusive, smart, elegant and green approach, which puts the local community at the center.