The Greek Urban Fabric. A Societal Triumph

Greece has long been presented as a country populated by small farmers and small urban landowners. The first image fades away when confronted with the rise of speculative export-oriented agricultural activities. The second one persists as it is embedded in culture, society, law, and institutions. Constructing is a second nature for all segments of society: main residence, vacation home in coastal or mountain resorts, and land heritage carefully maintained in the original village communities. Deprived of almost any public support dedicated to construction and, until recently, to mortgage loans, the Greeks use specific funding procedures as an answer to missing capital in the local economy: (i) financial compensation system (antiparochi) aiming to share the value created by the densification of existing buildings; (ii) illegal non-slum constructions (afthaireta) erected without permits, but legalized after each election, referring back to the standard social compensation circuit. Although efficient in terms of growth and its spillover effects, the system has adverse consequences on civil life: missing land register despite European funding, frauds, resistance to taxes, and fiscal evasion, especially in the area of land ownership.