Offshore solar energy presents a new opportunity for low-carbon energy transition. In this research, we identify and rank suitable Offshore Solar Farm (OSF) sites in the Aegean Sea, Greece, considering various constraints and assessment criteria. The methodology includes two distinct phases. In the first phase, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to spatially depict both incompatible and compatible marine areas for OSF deployment, while in the second phase, two models based on different combinations of multi-criteria decision-making methods are deployed to hierarchically rank the eligible areas for OSF deployment. The first model (Objective Model—OM) attributes weights to assessment criteria using an entropy-based weight method, while the second model (Subjective Model—SM) utilizes the pairwise comparison of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Both models use TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) to prioritize the suitable OSF sites. The results indicate the existence of nine suitable OSF marine areas in the Greek marine environment (total surface area of 17.25 km²) and a different ranking of these sites depending upon the deployed model (OM or SM). The present approach provides useful guidelines for OSF site selection in Greece as well as in other countries.

People with visual impairments are unable to collect the external visual stimuli from the environment or to use conventional maps. Hence, the importance of tactile maps as informational and orientation means is undoubted. The blind user perceives the information graphed on the tactile map by feeling the elements of the map with the fingertips. There has been considerable research into the design of these maps over recent decades, providing answers to most of the questions which have arisen concerning their intelligibility–the use of symbols, for example, and the implementation of uniform standards to make the maps generally accessible. For the production of tactile maps a number of methods have been developed worldwide. The introduction of new technologies has contributed to the design and production of tactile maps, following procedures appropriate to the special needs of tactile mapping, with automatic cartography. During the procedure of implementing a tactile map with the use of a personal computer, a basic stage is the construction of a digital map. In this article, the design of tactile maps of Thessaloniki (the second largest city in Greece) is discussed, with special emphasis on a number of relevant issues influencing the whole process.

The valuation of real estate is a fundamental process for the proper functioning of the market and the formulation of public policies. The mother of the traditional methodologies is the comparative method, which is based on data that is often incomplete or unreliable, especially in real estate markets with limited transparency. In contrast, online advertisements offer a wealth of unstructured information, which requires advanced analysis techniques. Even if they reflect price demands rather than real estate’s final market values, they provide a wealth of data that is particularly useful for market transparency. Real estate advertisements are also enriched with photographs and videos of the property. This paper proposes a methodological framework that integrates artificial intelligence techniques (natural language processing and computer vision) to extract structured features from text and photographs of advertisements. The resulting dataset feeds the comparative method of property valuation, applied to thousands of properties. Geographic analysis and neighborhood characteristics of properties enrich the proposed algorithm, covering all the available geodata that affect real estate values. The empirical analysis of apartments in the city of Thessaloniki demonstrates significant improvements in valuation accuracy and the completeness of the characteristics. At the same time, the prediction of the energy class of properties, among other traits that the proposed methodology can accurately calculate, further enriches the valuation process. The work highlights the potential integration of artificial intelligence into modern valuation practice, offering a transparent, scalable, and auditable tool for professionals and policymakers.

Tourism has become a structural driver of land-system transformation, influencing urban restructuring, rural land consumption, coastal development, and housing dynamics. Although tourism sustainability has received growing scholarly attention, less systematic evidence exists on how land governance and spatial planning frameworks mediate tourism-related land-use change. This study presents a systematic review of peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2025 examining the relationship between spatial planning, land-use regulation, and tourism development. Following PRISMA guidelines, a structured search strategy and multi-stage screening process were applied using predefined inclusion and quality criteria, resulting in a final dataset of 58 studies. The findings indicate that tourism-driven land transformation is shaped by interconnected governance layers, including statutory planning instruments, institutional coordination mechanisms, and land administration infrastructures. However, these dimensions are rarely analyzed within an integrated framework. By synthesizing tourism planning and land administration scholarship through a land governance perspective, this review clarifies how regulatory tools and administrative systems interact in shaping spatial outcomes across scales. The study offers a structured basis for future comparative research and for more coherent policy responses to tourism-related land governance challenge.

Urban regenerations have always been a tool towards the improvement of the urban environment through environmental integration and thereafter the quality of life of citizens. However, all regenerations do not have the same success and impact on the surrounding properties. In this paper, two major urban regenerations of Thessaloniki, the second largest city of Greece, are studied through the scope of their effect on property values in combination with the analysis of the effect of traditional property characteristics on values. This study was necessary to fill the gap of determining that sustainable urban planning and environmental integration are nowadays proven more important than property characteristics, when population gathering in urban areas is at its highest point. The current study applied geographically weighted regression, spatial autocorrelation and hot-spot analysis through the environment of ArcGIS to determine which are the factors that citizens seek in their residential area and if these factors are more important than their property characteristics. The findings of the study indicate that citizens always seek for additional urban green and urban quality even in areas where the urban environment is already at a very good level. The difference appears in the fact that in areas where urban green or open spaces are upsent, the weight leans on the characteristics of the wider area and its citizens (socio-economic characteristics, habits etc.) rather than on the property characteristics, when determining property values. On the other hand, citizens living in areas with urban green and open spaces, move a step forward and seek for larger and more friendly green or regenerated areas as a counterpoint for already increased property values. In general, the result of this research underlines that a targeted urban planning for each sub-area is one of the keys toward property values stabilization against economic variations and towards the improvement of the quality of citizens’ lives through environmental integration. Therefore, decision makers and urban designers should take into account all different needs of the citizens in each area setting the goal of maximum possible urban sustainability and resilience and the minimum environmental degradation.

Major infrastructure investments alter accessibility and urban development patterns, yet their impact on housing prices varies significantly across regions. The prevailing interpretation attributes this heterogeneity to supply differences or regulatory constraints, treating land use regulations as exogenous variables. Nevertheless, even two regions with a nominally similar regulatory framework may produce substantially different outcomes in the housing market, depending on the effectiveness of rule implementation. This paper argues that this approach overlooks a critical variable: the ability of regional authorities to coordinate, regulate, permit, and implement spatial development in a predictable and timely manner. In line with this, a conceptual framework is developed, grounded in the literature on spatial and multi-level governance, in which regional institutional capacity is proposed as a potential mediator of capitalization around project milestones (announcement, funding, construction, operation), rather than as a backdrop. This capacity shapes outcomes through three interrelated dimensions: the responsiveness of supply, which depends on administrative capacity and regulatory consistency; the coherence of governance across jurisdictions within functional urban areas; and the management of land value through land value capture instruments. From this framework, testable propositions are derived regarding the intensity, timing, and spatial distribution of price effects. The study does not empirically estimate changes in housing prices, nor does it test the propositions put forward. Instead, it develops the conceptual framework and organizes the spatial and institutional units of observation required for a subsequent empirical test. The framework is specified spatially through Section A, Line 4 of the Athens Metro to organize the project’s spatial units, administrative jurisdictions, land uses, and milestones for future analysis. The contribution is threefold: conceptual, as it elevates regional institutional capacity from a contextual to an explanatory variable; theoretical, in that it bridges urban economics with the governance literature; and policy-relevant, since it repositions the reform of regional governance as a constituent element of housing policy and as a factor that may shape sustainable spatial development outcomes.