Urban waterfront areas: Environmental planning of small-scale harbour zones and consecutive urban waterfront areas

Abstract

The subject of the study concerns the regeneration of the urban waterfront, within the framework of a new approach for the quality living of the coastal human communities, not only under the terms of developmental perspectives, but also in satisfaction of a general need for the integration of natural spaces in the urban fabric, under the consideration to redefine the modern identity of the coastal front, within the framework of the environmental approach of the space and at the level of landscape aesthetics. More specifically, we focus on the urban waterfront and the small-scale harbours of the Greek island cities, which have maintained a different character up to this day, connected with the vital needs of island areas, due to their geographical inconsistency, their limitations in natural, productive and financial resources, as well as the special relationship of their inhabitants with the sea.