Spatial Data Management and Scenario Planning for Paving Sustainable Future Trails in Insular Territories - Case Study Milos Island, Greece

Regional development and cohesion policies in the European Union (EU) aim at reducing disparities among regions and promoting economic, social and territorial cohesion. Recently, relevant initiatives pay particular attention to insular regions as distinct examples of vulnerable and lagging-behind territories. These policies also emphasize place-based approaches as the means for the needs and challenges of diverse types of regions to be effectively addressed. This, in turn, calls for delving into spatial/developmental peculiarities; and utilizing planning tools that are capable of handling complexity and uncertainty related to the future of studied regions within the rapidly evolving external decision environment. That said, this work sets the stage for an in-depth exploration of future sustainable developmental pathways of insular contexts, using Milos Island, Greece as an example. Spatial data management, scenario planning/visualization and multicriteria evaluation provide the means for a foresight exercise that grasps and assesses diverse sustainable, spatially-defined developmental trails of Milos Island. As key drivers of change for the scenario building endeavour, strategic EU/national policy directions compatible to the islands’ context are utilized, namely the Green and Blue Growth strategies; and an effort to downscale them in the case study context is carried out. Scenarios produced are evaluated by use of multicriteria analysis (MCA), highlighting social, economic and environmental dimensions. Integration of spatial data management, scenario planning/visualization and MCA render planning outcomes and related policy decisions more robust, justifiable, fair and transparent.