Urban planning

The raid, following another one two days earlier, triggered fierce debate over the role of police in enforcing public health measures as Greece begins to lift its COVID-19 lockdown, amid accusations that security forces - frequently accused of acting unaccountably - are being used by the conservative government to promote gentrification in a city where years of extreme austerity since 2010 have

A draft bill that was put up for public consultation on Monday features a raft of amendments to zoning laws aimed at facilitating major investment projects in the tourism sector.

The reconstructed Omonia Square in central Athens will be delivered to the public by the end of next week, Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis said on social media on Thursday.

"Very happy that Omonia square has entered the final stretch and will be delivered to the Athenians," he said

Progress on an ambitious revamp of Athens' downtown Omonia Square is seen in a photograph released on Saturday. The Athens municipal authority is reinstalling a fountain at the center of the square in a nod to the iconic landmark that graced it from its redesign in the late 1950s to the early 1990s.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has submitted to parliament a law proposal that will bring radical changes in urbanization and zoning.

Illegal structures will be demolished, penalties will be increased, and "annotations" will be issued at deed registration offices, the party's deputy chair, Mehmet Muş, told reporters on Jan. 13.

The Athens Urban Transport Organization (OASA) is planning to use 600,000 euros of European Union funding to improve accessibility on the Greek capital's buses and trolley buses.

According to an announcement, the money will be used to equip 190 bus and trolley bus stops with platforms that will allow wheelchair users to board and disembark from the vehicles without assistance.

Police in Athens on Monday were searching the capital's main landfill in Fyli for the remains of a 52-year-old man after a 21-year-old confessed to murdering him, cutting up his body and disposing of it in the trash.

The 21-year-old man reportedly confessed on Saturday to stabbing his 52-year-old godfather to death in his sleep because the older man used to beat his mother.

Noise laws restricting disturbances in residential areas over the winter period go into effect on Tuesday and will revert back to the summer schedule on April 1.

According to the measure, residents are allowed to make a complaint to the police if disturbances are noted between 10 p.m. and 7.30 a.m. and from 3.30 to 5.30 p.m. during the customary siesta break.

Works are set to begin on the extension of the River West shopping center on Kifissou Avenue in Aegaleo, western Athens, in the next few days. Sources say the implementation of the 18.5-million-euro investment is close to starting after more than two years of planning.

Under a new draft bill submitted to public consultation this week, the government seeks to clear a number of environmental and zoning hurdles from the path of "strategic investments" and facilitate the legalization of unlicensed constructions and additions by offering financial incentives.