Vested interests, disorganization, bureaucracy
Since strategic zoning is so necessary for a country’s development, the question arises as to why this has not yet been dealt with in Greece. The main reason is, of course, the fear of the political cost and pressure from vested interest groups, according to Beriatos. «A secondary reason is the general disorganization of the Greek State,» he added. Yiannakourou agrees. «Land use planning is by its very nature a complex public policy because it incorporates a number of goals, in development, social policy and the environment, for example,» she explained. «Its approval and implementation requires the cooperation of a number of organizations and ministries, something that has been shown to be very difficult in Greece,» Yiannakourou said. «Secondly, for a plan to be put into practice, particularly since it needs to be on a major scale, it should not be as binding as town planning. «Finally, the fact that society as a whole does not see the need for this kind of zoning is also important.»