Greece’s Ministry of Environment and Energy is moving to allow private urban planning schemes to redevelop small, dying settlements, under a draft bill that has already taken effect.

The measure targets villages that, according to the most recent census by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), have permanent populations under 150 people and have either shrunk demographically over the past three decades or seen only minor population change, up to 5%.

Any area proposed for redevelopment must be a single contiguous plot of at least 50 acres. To qualify, a settlement must:

• Be considered architecturally interesting
• Be classified as geologically unsuitable (meaning no landslide risk or other geological hazards)
• Must include a “cohesive section,” or a recognizable core of existing residential development.

Under the new framework, newly developed areas would not stand as separate residential zones but would have to be functionally linked to the existing settlement and share its technical and social infrastructure networks.

Developers would be required to hand over and build out, at their own expense and without compensation from the local municipality, at least 50% of the area being rezoned. Of that share, at least 25% must go toward public and community spaces. The remainder can be used for special purposes set out in the development plan or, up to 15%, converted into a monetary contribution to the municipality.