Scheme for Thessaloniki envisages central park
A new regulatory plan for Thessaloniki, put to public consultation by the Environment Ministry Wednesday, foresees the annual trade fair held in the northern city being moved west of the downtown area and a large part of the center becoming a metropolitan park.
The scheme, which is the first regulatory plan for Thessaloniki since 1985, aims to convert a substantial part of the busy city’s central neighborhoods, including the site for the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), the emblematic White Tower, the Aristotle University and the YMCA, known in Greek as HANTH, being incorporated into a large metropolitan park for “culture and greenery.”
This means that TIF, whose political significance has declined in recent years, would be moved west of the city. The scheme also proposes that Thessaloniki’s Sheikh Sou forest become a protected area.
