Networking cities in Greece: the tri-pole Kavala, Drama, Xanthi in brief

Networking, as an organising principle of the urban systems, is a basic feature of the territorial policies and practices, but also a classic concept of the theory of urban geography and of spatial planning. In the first place it refers to the fundamental characteristic of cities and towns, not to constitute isolated and autonomous points of concentration of population and activities in geographic space, but to generate and attract flows, connecting them to other urban and/or rural areas. The present article attempts to illustrate the dynamics emerging from the development of an urban tri-dipole, as well as its impact on each of the three cities and on the broader surrounding area / region. Within this framework, the article focuses on a specific case of three cities in Greece, Kavala, Drama and Xanthi, which have already a degree of cooperation on a first level, are complementary in the nature of their urban functions, and they have the potential of developing to an urban tri-pole. The aim of the article is to define the prospects for economic development of this tri-pole and examine its dynamic in relation to other cities in Greece, by using situation audit analysis, taking into consideration the local distinctive characteristics of each city and the characteristics of the tri-pole as a whole.