Last updated: October 2024
Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest urban center, is a key hub for economic growth and outward trade in the Balkans. The city hosts the country’s second-largest export port, which plays a crucial role in connecting European trade routes with Asia and China. However, until 2014, Thessaloniki's waterfront was poorly maintained, largely inaccessible, and unattractive. Moreover, major flooding events, connected to extreme weather events, exposed significant deficiencies in the city's flood mitigation infrastructure, leading to damage to housing and critical services. (5, 10, 11) To address these issues, the Municipality of Thessaloniki launched an International Architectural Competition for the redevelopment of the New Waterfront. From 2006 to 2014, Thessaloniki's waterfront underwent a significant regeneration aimed at benefiting the city's population of 1.1 million and stimulating the local economy. The revitalized waterfront now stretches 3 kilometers between land and sea, featuring 58,000 acres of green space an playgrounds.. In total, 2,353 new trees and 118,432 plants were added across an area of 238,800 m² (Refs 1, 3, 4). The project also introduced walking routes, sports and recreational facilities, seating areas, and scenic viewing points. The waterfront now has a bicycle path along the entire walkway, and an arbour of 660 umbrella pine trees, serving as shade from the midday sun. Completed in 2014, the New Waterfront has already become a vibrant urban green space, enjoyed by both Thessaloniki's citizens and visitors alike (Ref 4).
The Garden of Sound at the Thessaloniki New Waterfront
Copyright by Bernard Cuomo
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- Coastlines
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
- Coastal protection / hazard mitigation
- Marine and coastal biodiversity protection
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social justice and equity
- Social interaction
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Tourism support
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Coastal flooding
- Urban flooding (stormwater)
- Extreme weather events (e.g. storms, hurricanes)
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Rapid urbanization
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of large parks and urban and peri-urban forests, Coastal landscape management or protection, Improving coastal resilience
Project objectives
To address urban and coastal flooding issues caused by severe weather events and sea level rises and to improve the microclimate, especially in response to rising temperatures.
To enhance Mediterranean vegetation and local biodiversity by designing several gardens with local and native plant species.
To regenerate the coastal area by introducing a tree-lined route as an alternative shaded walking area, with carefully chosen lighting for ambiance and safety focusing on recreational and physical activity aspects
To create a space that integrates smoothly with the existing urban landscape.
To boost the local economy through the revitalization of the waterfront.
To consider the needs of elderly people and individuals who are blind or visually impaired in the design of public spaces (Refs 1, 5, 6).
Implementation activities
In 2000, an International Architectural Competition was launched for the redevelopment of Thessaloniki's New Waterfront. Construction of the winning design, which aimed to bridge the "in-between" of the sea and the city, began in 2006 (Refs 3, 4). The first phase, covering 75,800 m², was completed in 2008, while the second phase, spanning 163,000 m², began in 2011 and was completed in 2014 (Ref 3).
The New Waterfront now stretches 3 kilometers (Ref 7), featuring 2,353 newly planted trees and 118,432 plants, creating 58.75 acres of green space and 11,557 m² of playgrounds (Ref 3). Within this area, two parallel zones were established along the water: the Breakwater and the Inner Gardens (Ref 4).
The Breakwater runs along the water's edge, providing a space for walking, running, and enjoying views (Refs 3, 4). It features lighting, sea breezes, a wooden deck, and separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists (ibid.).
In the Inner Gardens, 13 green spaces were created along the inner side of the coast, each with its own thematic character. These spaces are equipped with facilities for sports, recreation, viewing, and seating (ibid.).
The Garden of Mediterranean features enhanced vegetation, including orchard trees and Mediterranean herbs, with the existing walking routes preserved and the addition of an open-air café (ibid.). Indigenous wildflower species were planted in the Garden of Seasons to further enrich the area’s biodiversity (ibid.).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Increase urban vegetation cover to reduce urban heat island effect
- Protect and restore coastal ecosystems, to address loss of land and livelihoods, due to rising sea levels
- Implement sustainable urban drainage schemes to manage stormwater
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore native species
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Private sector/Corporate/Company
- Citizens or community groups
- Marginalized groups: Elderly people, People with functional diversities
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Taskforce groups
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The redevelopment of Thessaloniki's New Waterfront was initiated by the Municipality of Thessaloniki (Ref 4). In 2000, the city launched an International Architectural Competition, awarding first prize to Nikiforidis-Cuomo Architects. Construction of the project began in 2006, with Sidirodromika Erga S.A. as the main contractor and Lafarge contributing to the infrastructure (Refs 3, 4, 9). The project involved multiple collaborators (Ref 14): a private actor served as the acoustic consultant for the project, and taskforces were formed to supervise both the design and construction phases.
The total budget of €43.2 million was co-financed by the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2007-2013 (Refs 4, 12, 13).
Additionally, a research initiative on the potential health impacts of blue infrastructure, part of the Blue Space project, was conducted by the city in partnership with Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Refs 10, 11).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(The project was co-financed through the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) 2007-2013, which responded to the National Development Strategy, which was aligned with the broader objectives of the European Union's Cohesion Policy. (Ref 12, 13).)
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Type of enablers
Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships), NBS research project (e.g., H2020, Urban Living Labs, national research projects), Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public national budget
- EU funds
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Expected lowered local temperature
- Enhanced protection against extreme weather events (e.g. storms, cyclones, tidal surges, coastal erosion)
- Expected enhanced protection against extreme weather events (e.g. storms, cyclones, tidal surges, coastal erosion)
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- Achieved increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
- More sustainable tourism
- Achieved more sustainable tourism
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved liveability
- Achieved improved liveability
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Achieved increased opportunities for social interaction
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Improved physical health
- Achieved improved physical health
- Enhanced cognitive restoration, relaxation and stress relief
- Achieved enhanced cognitive restoration, relaxation and stress relief
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Social justice and conflicts, Lack of social acceptance
References
1.
Architecture Centre of the Municipality of Thessaloniki (Κέντρο Αρχιτεκτονικής) (2010). Νέα Παραλία. Architecture Centre of the Municipality of Thessaloniki (Κέντρο Αρχιτεκτονικής), Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Lonely Planet (n.d.). New Waterfront | Thessaloniki, Greece. Lonely Planet, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
3.
ArchDaily (2014). New Waterfront of Thessaloniki / Nikiforidis-Cuomo Architects. ArchDaily, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Tsirintani, E. (2015). Thessaloniki New Waterfront Creates Spectacular Scenes. Land8, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
5.
EUmies Awards (2011). Redesign of the New Waterfront of Thessaloniki. EUmies Awards, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Cuomo, B.; Nikiforidis, P. (2014). Redevelopment of the New Waterfront of Thessaloniki. Barcelona International Landscape Biennial, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
7.
CIty of Thessaloniki (n.d.). The Waterfront of Thessaloniki. CIty of Thessaloniki, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Santos, V. (2019). In Thessaloniki, waterfront revitalization is key for the city’s growth. World Bank Blogs, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Lafarge (2017). New Waterfront of Thessaloniki. Lafarge, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
10.
Blue Health (n.d.). Urban waterfront: Thessaloniki. Blue Health, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
11.
Aubert, G.; Domingo, G.; Underwood, E.; Baroni, L.; Christopoulou, L. (2020). The socio-economic benefits of nature restoration in Greece. The Institute for European Environmental Policy, p. 28 Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
12.
Capps, K. (2019). A First-Rate Waterfront Park Is Transforming a Historic Greek City. Bloomberg, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
13.
Special Secretariat NSRF (2011). List of Priority Projects in Greece co-funded by the Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund in NSRF 2007-2013. NSRF, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
14.
Singhal, S. (2014). Redevelopment of the New Waterfront in Thessaloniki, Greece by nikiforidis-cuomo architects. AECCafe, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
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Best of Thessaloniki (n.d.). New Waterfront of Thessaloniki. Best of Thessaloniki, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
16.
Liolis, M. (2024). Facebook. Facebook, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
17.
Voria.gr (2021). Θεσσαλονίκη: Εντυπωσιάζει ο ανακαινισμένος Κήπος του Νερού στη Νέα Παραλία(φωτο). Voria.gr, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
18.
Nikiforidis, P. (2021). Facebook. Facebook, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
19.
Gerakaritou, K. (2022). Γιατί στέρεψαν οι λίμνες στον Κήπο του Νερού- Σύντομα το έργο συντήρησης της Νέας Παραλίας. Voria.gr, Accessed on September 11, 2024, [Source link];
20.
Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) (2021). Δημογραφικά χαρακτηριστικά / 2021. Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), Accessed on September 14, 2023, [Source link];
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Salary Expert (n.d.). Average Salary in Thessaloniki, Greece. Salary Expert, Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link];
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Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) (2021). Χαρακτηριστικά κατοικιών - νοικοκυριών / 2021. Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), Accessed on September 14, 2024, [Source link];
Thessaloniki New Waterfront
Photo courtesy of Nikiforidis-Cuomo Architects
The Garden of Sculpture at the Thessaloniki New Waterfront
Copyright by Bernard Cuomo
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.