The Geography of Greece

During the last few years, Greece has become a subject of increasing attention worldwide. Once praised for its ability to innovate and reform during the EU integration process, applauded for its remarkable job in managing the 2004 Olympics, the country fell into a financial crisis of unprecedented magnitude in 2008. Much has been said on this matter, and amid the morass of information a staggering number of untruths have been disseminated.In fact, the challenges of vulnerability and the paradigms of adaptation go way beyond finance and economy in Greece. Mega-fires, earthquakes, landslides and floods, migrations, sociopolitical upheavals, and armed conflicts generate emergency situations repeatedly. Because of its bridging role between natural and social sciences, geography can provide insights into the entire breadth of hazardous and chaotic events driving adaptation and change. Against all these threats, Greece has developed an enhanced resilience capacity. The purpose of this book is to help unravel the complexities of a fascinating country beyond clichés.This book is intended for students, researchers, scholars, and engineers interested in geography, land planning, urban studies, and environmental management. The crises issue intended as a guideline allows widening the audience to include the media, governmental and non-governmental agencies, and the public at large.

Analyses the geography and Greek crisis/crises outside the area of finance, focusing on human and physical geography Breaks stereotypes about this country and collects the most relevant and up-to-date information from renown experts Contains maps, photos, and tables and provides key insights into the dynamics of change and resilience

Auteur
Régis Darques is a geographer whose research area is at the crossroads of human and environmental geography. Research fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS-UMR 7300 ESPACE, France), his interests focus on Balkan geography and Mediterranean Studies. Remote sensing techniques, advanced GIS, and complex systems are among his areas of expertise.

Kostas Kalabokidis is a professor of physical geography with an emphasis on the use of Geographic Information Systems at the Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, Greece. His research resulted in numerous publications on wildfire ecology and management, environmental risk planning, natural disasters, human-environment relations, spatial analysis and geo-informatics.

George Sidiropoulos is a distinguished professor in the Geography Department at the University of the Aegean (Greece), specializing in historical geography and geopolitics. His research encompasses the analysis ofspatial dynamics over time, geopolitical and geostrategic assessments, as well as the fields of geographic visualization and cartography.

Contenu
Chapter1-Foreword- Greece Beyond the Crises, an Enhanced Resilience.- Part I. Into the Depths of Historical Geography: Chapter 2. The Geoarcheology of Greece. Shaping Landscapes vs. Crises and Resilience of the Past.- Chapter 3. Building a Territory in the Midst of State Crises.- Chapter 4. Mapping Hellenism. The Challenge of a Scale Game.- Chapter 5. The Greek Orthodox Church. A Unique Cultural and Social Environment.- Part II. Conflicts and Compromises: Chapter6. Border Areas and Land Confines. Litigations, Defense, and Development.- Chapter7. Water Resources Management and Policy in Greece: Challenges and Options.- Chapter8. The Black Sea & Eastern Mediterranean (BSEM) Region and BRI: Macro-historical Tendencies and Geopolitical Models of Analysis.- Chapter9. Tossed by the Waves but Never Sinking: Greece, from the 1826 Default to the Modern Debt Crisis and its Aftermaths.- Part III. Greek Miracles: Resilience through Innovation: Chapter 10. Athens, an American City by the Mediterranean Sea.- Chapter 11. Greek Tourism: A Story of Success.- Chapter 12. The Greek Urban Fabric. A Societal Triumph.- Chapter 13. Advances in Transport and Infrastructure Development.- Part IV. Managing Local Specifics: Towards New Pathways: Chapter 14. Living in Greece Outside Cities: Rural-Urban Relationships.- Chapter 15. Greek Cities and Formal Planning.- Chapter16. Real Estate Property and Cadaster: The Impact of New Mapping Techniques on Land Management and Planning in Greece.- Chapter 17. Administrative and Territorial Structure in Modern Greece.- Part V. Adaptation to Changing Dynamics: Chapter 18. In the Greek Countryside: Towards Modernization, Specialization, or Abandonment?.- Chapter 19. Traveling the Country: Transportation Challenges and Mobility Management.- Chapter 20. The Athos Peninsula. A Living Example of Continuity Over Time.- Chapter21. Coastal Hazards and Related Impacts in Greece.- Part VI. Emergency Situations and Chaotic Events: Chapter22.Pyro-Geography of the Greek Landscape.- Chapter 23. Disaster and Recovery. Greece's Major Territorial Upheavals.- Chapter 24. The Wonderful Weather of Greece.- Chapter 25. Active Tectonics and Seismicity in Greece.- Part VII. Oncoming Challenges: Chapter 26. Aspects of Climate Change in Greece.- Chapter 27. Greece, Demographic Changes and Challenges.- Chapter 28. Biodiversity Conservation vs. Ecological Modernization in Post-Crisis Greece: Environmental Syndemics and the Biodiversity Degradation Syndrome.- Chapter 29. Greece as a Central Actor Amid Geostrategic Antagonisms in the South-Eastern Mediterranean Complex.- Chapter 30. Epilogue- Resilience Through Diachrony?.