Thessaloniki: a transition to sustainability after centuries of transformation

Applying ideas of sustainability to a city one comes to for the first time requires caution. In the case of Thessaloniki, any analysis must deal with the many changing eras in the city’s long and complex history.

Forty years ago, the city of Thessaloniki in Macedonia in northern Greece celebrated its 2,300th anniversary. Of course, other cities from the ancient world such as Aleppo, Jerusalem and Athens have an even more venerable history, but that longevity still dwarfs relative newcomers such as London and New York.

Like all modern cities in the automobile-reliant West, the immediate feeling is of a car-dominated city, with the main arteries through the centre of the city throbbing with a feeling of congestion and pollution. With the country’s second-largest export port, a growing tourist industry and investment coming into its waterfront development, the pressure will only increase.

In February 2025, a plan to upgrade the port was approved, enabling it to accommodate main liner container vessels with capacities of up to 24,000 cargo containers. Its operational capacity will be enhanced thanks to improved connections to the railway and road networks but clearly the economic benefits will add to the pressure on the city. Tourism is a particular focus given that with 31 museums, 15 UNESCO monuments, and a 50km coastal front, the city attracts more than 2 million visitors per year.

But on top of that are the threat of earthquakes — the last one in 1978 injured some 200 people — and the ongoing pressure from, societal and economic needs. Lastly the climate creates its own challenges, with summer days now often seeing temperatures peaking at 45°C, exacerbated by the urban heat island effect due to a lack of green spaces.

Strategic framework

The city authorities took a step forward in 2017 when they launched the 2030 Strategy Framework to enhance the city's environmental and social sustainability by enhancing transportation options, developing and supporting residents' skills and quality of life, building a more robust economy, and revitalising the connection between the city and the bay through environmental restoration.

One major initiative that predates the strategy is the underground metro line that opened in 2024 after 22 years of planning and work. The delays were caused by a combination of Greece’s financial crisis from 2009 to 2018, funding issues and the need to excavate deeper than initially planned — to preserve archaeological remains that emerged as work commenced.

Arch of Galerius, Thessaloniki. Credit: author

Thessaloniki is a city built on history from ancient Greek times through to the Roman Empire, its place in the Byzantine era, four centuries as part of the Ottoman Empire before becoming officially part of Greece. While much of the Ottoman heritage was erased after the reconquest by Greece and its allies in 1912, older relics are constantly emerging. As a result, the construction of metro stations was delayed as the plans were adjusted to allow the relics to be preserved and form part of the travel experience.

The €3 billion metro is forecast to lower Thessaloniki’s heavy traffic by eliminating 57,000 cars daily, with 254,000 passengers projected to use the system in the city and suburbs, home to over 1 million residents. The first section of nine stations runs east to west and connects the railway station. A 4.8km branch has been built and will open in 2025 as line 2. A further extension to the airport is planned.

Remains at Venizelou metro station. Credit: Trashpanda, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Another success that predates the framework is the multi-billion investment in the dilapidated waterfront. Between 2006 and 2014, it underwent a major transformation. The revitalised area now runs three kilometres along the coast and includes almost 60,000 acres of green spaces and playgrounds and more than 2,300 new trees The project also incorporates walking paths, sports and recreational facilities, seating areas, and scenic viewpoints. A bike path runs the entire length of the waterfront, alongside a grove of 660 umbrella pine trees that provide shade.

The framework itself sets four main goals: to shape a thriving and sustainable city; to co-create an inclusive city; to build a dynamic urban economy and responsive city; and to re-discover the city’s relationship with the sea. These goals are broken down into 30 objectives and more than 100 actions. There is no shortage of ambition.

But obstacles are ever-present. In Greece, the centralised governance system creates a set of challenges for cities like Thessaloniki. These include a lack of economic autonomy for local municipalities, complex and occasionally conflicting jurisdictional boundaries between various levels of government, and restricted access to European funding opportunities.

Thessaloniki is clearly a city in transition after centuries of transformation thanks to its storied and layered history. It wants to create a city that takes care of its residents' needs, develops local talent, builds a strong urban economy, and protects its environment. To achieve that it must take on making the city more sustainable by addressing demographic changes, improving economic conditions, preserving public spaces, and enhancing city governance.