One of the most significant challenges facing modern cities like Thessaloniki is the severe lack of green spaces, the presence of which is proven to reduce temperatures, particularly during the summer months. Unfortunately, Thessaloniki offers only 2 square meters of green space per resident, far below the World Health Organization’s recommended sustainable ratio of 8–10 square meters per resident.
This acute shortage of green space has been a topic of discussion for decades, yet central and local authorities have failed to take decisive action to expand green spaces. On the contrary, decisions by these authorities often appear to not only disregard but outright reject the reasonable demands of residents and environmental organizations for more green spaces.
A recent local movement has emerged in the city, advocating for the relocation of the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) outside the urban core and the transformation of its current site into a large metropolitan park. Such a park, featuring dense vegetation and accessible areas for sports and recreation, could, according to environmental scientist and former Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) professor Kostas Nikolaou, form a green corridor connecting the university campus with Xarchakos Park, creating a significant green island in the heart of Thessaloniki’s downtown area.
Listen to the podcast “The need for green islands in the grey sea of the city” with Kostas Nikolaou
However, the central government, in collaboration with the municipality and the regional authority, plans to redevelop the current TIF site with large, energy-intensive exhibition halls and a multi-story hotel. Mr. Nikolaou criticizes the project, stating: “They are engaging in real estate business, planning to build a massive hotel, taller than the White Tower, a pharaonic shopping mall, and an underground parking lot for 2,000 cars”.
In response, a coalition called “Alliance – All of TIF One Park” has been formed by dozens of organizations under the initiative of the SOS Network for Trees. The coalition demands that the TIF site not be urbanized and instead transformed entirely into a metropolitan park. They reject government claims that the redevelopment includes a metropolitan park, arguing that the plan merely features decorative lawns and shrubs amidst colossal energy-intensive buildings.
“The future of the TIF site is one of the most critical struggles for public space, the environment, and quality of life in Thessaloniki,” the coalition asserts. “The need for trees, cooling, oxygen, and open spaces is becoming increasingly urgent as the climate crisis worsens. The outdated solution of intensive construction with some grass, shrubs, and ornamental trees branded as a ‘metropolitan park’ has failed to convince citizens”.
Alongside the conversation about the transformation of TIF into a metropolitan park, the previous municipal administration of K. Zervas initiated another environmentally detrimental move by cutting down thousands of trees within the urban fabric under the pretext of their structural instability. Activists, concerned citizens, and academics strongly opposed this plan, which was largely implemented without proper studies or permits. Protests during this period even led to arrests and prosecutions of activists defending Thessaloniki’s few green elements.
The indiscriminate tree felling and the arrests of activists underscored the Thessaloniki municipality’s lack of an organized plan for maintaining existing trees or increasing plantings. Once again, critical issues related to addressing the climate crisis’ impacts were left to the discretion of a mayor or deputy mayor.
In Thessaloniki’s neighborhoods, local movements have been emerging in recent years, with residents opposing development projects on plots intended for parks or school facilities. Residents, rather than the municipality, are the ones advocating for more green space. A notable example is the former Papafi Stables site in Toumba, where plans for a large municipal building threaten to destroy the mature trees and green space currently coexisting with older, low-impact municipal structures.
The creation of new green spaces within Thessaloniki’s city limits remains a challenge. Former military bases within the urban fabric present prime opportunities to transform areas into metropolitan parks with dense greenery, sports facilities, and cultural spaces. Local communities have mobilized to demand this transformation, as these bases currently stand as abandoned spaces.
In 2017, the Ministry of National Defense granted a 99-year lease for the former Pavlos Melas base to its namesake municipality. Seven years later, work is underway to develop the outdoor areas into a metropolitan park. Within the area, there are preserved but abandoned buildings, for which only renovation and modernization studies have been conducted. The significant delay in the creation of this Metropolitan Park has deprived western Thessaloniki of a green lung for years, where citizens could visit and engage in sports activities.
The situation is even worse for other former military bases. The Kodra camp, transferred years ago to the Municipality of Kalamaria, has seen no progress toward planning or funding a metropolitan park on Thessaloniki’s eastern side. Discussions regarding the Karatasios base remain stagnant, despite long-standing demands from local committees and movements for a space dedicated to greenery, sports, and culture.
Without initiatives and the necessary political will to advance the creation of metropolitan parks in Thessaloniki, these spaces will become yet another missed opportunity for the city and its residents. This failure would represent a significant setback in efforts to mitigate and address the impacts of the climate crisis.
Research and editing: Jason Bantios, Stavroula Poulimeni, Tilemachos Fassoulas
The research of the independent media cooperative Alterthess titled “Urbal Resilience, Climate Neutrality: The case of Thessaloniki” was realised with the support of Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung-Office in Greece. Read the complete research here.
