The emerging property development pattern in Greece and its impact on spatial development

Real estate market and property development dynamics in Greece are undergoing some critical changes, exhibiting a new condition which governs the relationship between capital and landed property in the current phase of capitalist development. A key feature of these changes is the formation of a property development pattern which clearly marks a break with the dominant conventional one (structured upon the small-scale owner occupation and the absence of big capital). The potential impact of this new pattern is difficult to assess as yet. Each pattern - the conventional and the newly emerging one - are affecting spatial development differently (in positive or negative terms). As things stand, however, there does appear to be a contradictory coexistence between the two; this is aggravated by inability of state and planning policy, in particular, to actively intervene in the changing spatial economy and society. Thus, there seems to be an inherent risk in the near future of having to cope only with the negative features produced by the two patterns which in a worst-case scenario could result in: continuous urban sprawl, non-planning and environmental degradation, increases in land values, overborrowing, reduction of public space and other socio-economic, functional and environmental bottlenecks.