The Refugee Establishment In Greece Of Modern Times: Institutional And Urban Tools For The Spatial Management

The problem of housing in refugee Greece of modern times was recognized, admittedly, as the primary and urgent matter. This significance, moreover, emerged as a logical consequence of the successive and exuberant refugee flows of that period, which led as a first result to the deluge primarily of the urban centers by refugees. The latter, upon their arrival - and while the Exodus still lasted, finding temporary shelter in areas of public use mainly, inevitably and despite the efforts of the health services of Greece, were devastated by hunger and epidemics. This situation, by exaggerating the social tension, forced the Greek state to act, initially creating mechanisms - within the framework of its existing public services at that time – and afterwards addressing to the International Community. A series of institutional tools and regulations related to settlement policy issues - residential establishment and reconstruction of areas in the urban and rural space - had already appeared since the previous periods of refugee movements in Greece. It is worth mentioning in this respect some of these laws, considering them preponderant in the configuration of the map of the first urban planning regulations for the newly established Greek state.