This paper presents a conceptual framework for the examination of land redevelopment based on a complex systems/networks approach. The agents and networks involved in property development can be seen as constituents of structures that perform complex processes. These structures interact, forming new more complex structures and networks. Redevelopment then can be conceptualised as a process of transformation: a complex system, involving developers, planners, landowners, investors, community groups, etc., through which a previously used site is transformed into new network space. Analysis of network relations points towards the 'duality' of structure and agency in these processes of system transformation and change. Insights from actor network theory can be conjoined with notions of complexity and chaos to build an understanding of the ways in which actors actively seek to shape these structures and systems, whilst at the same time being recursively shaped by them in their strategies and actions. Better understanding of the interactions between actors and the emergent qualities of the networks they form can improve our comprehension of the complex socio-spatial phenomena that redevelopment comprises.

This paper presents the spatial distribution of multiple deprivation in Athens, and links these spatial patterns to the city’s urban development trajectory and the way housing is accessed. Multiple deprivation was measured as the combined concentration of disadvantageous employment situation, access to education and housing conditions. A principal components analysis was utilized for 20 variables from the three said domains. Two components were identified as statistically significant. The analysis covered approximately 3000 urban spatial analysis units (URANU), using data from the population censuses of 1991, 2001 and 2011. The findings unveil that from 1991 to 2011, multiple deprivation in the urban periphery as well as in city center areas worsened. Conditions in many (but not all) working-class areas in the west of Athens, as well as in middle class suburbs in the east, improved or did not get worse. If compared to the urban development trajectory of the city, this distribution means that the historical East–West socio-economic division is getting less pronounced, whereas an important center–periphery dynamic is emerging. The filtering and sorting process of the housing market could explain those trends. It appears that the most affected populations are those outside the Greek family-centered and homeownership-based model of access to housing.

This paper discusses the process of development rights allocation in Greece and the changes to that process which occurred from 2009 onward. It argues that the interaction of institutions which regulate the allocation of development rights, with social practices of formal and informal land development, gives rise to development pathways which demonstrate institutional persistence. In the case of Greece, these pathways range from ‘urban development by state organisations’, to development without planning permission on land that is not owned by the developer. The crisis was a shock to the Greek governance system, yet the analysis in this paper shows that the reforms of the development rights allocation process followed the pre-existing ‘mentality of rule’. The paper therefore argues that development pathways reflect a political arrangement between the ruling elites and other social strata. The technologies of governance and the associated institutions and practices which support elite rule, were sustained, if not reinforced, during the crisis. This analytical approach therefore offers insights of relevance to other countries in Europe and around the world which contemplate reforms to their development rights allocation system.

There is increasing use of digital technologies in urban planning, including in the generation of designs and the participative side of planning. We examine this digital planning by reporting on the application of an experimental online participatory platform in the regeneration of a London housing estate, enabling reflection on participation processes and outcomes. Drawing on lessons learned, the paper synthesises a conceptual representation of online participation and a relational framework for understanding the participatory platform and its context. We subsequently develop a ‘matrix of participative space’, building on Arnstein’s ‘ladder of participation’, to present a two-dimensional framework of online participation, identifying cases of ‘participative deficit’ and ‘democratic deficit’. We conclude with implications for future digital participation in urban planning and design.