The Agricultural University of Athens at the Delphi Economic Forum 2025

Spatial planning and the consequences of unregulated construction were among the key topics discussed in the panel "Urban Planning or Urban Sprawl?", held as part of the 10th Delphi Economic Forum, where the Agricultural University of Athens was represented by the Rector, Professor Spyridon Kintzios.

The Rector of AUA presented for the first time the cycle of three factors—biodiversity, resource competition, and microclimatic change—which are affected by unregulated construction. He introduced this as a guide for future spatial planning and as a step beyond conventional environmental impact assessment studies, in order to include the interactions of various human-induced factors and to evaluate them over a sufficiently long-term horizon.

The discussion featured the following speakers: Mrs. Maria Karamanof, former Vice President of the Council of State and President of the Chamber of Environment and Sustainability; Mrs. Betty Hatzinikolaou, lawyer, former President of the Greek National Tourism Organization and President of the Institutional Framework Council of ELLET (Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage) and Mrs. Maria Gatsou, General Director of SETE (Greek Tourism Confederation). The panel was moderated by journalist Mr Yiannis Palaiologos.

As in previous years, the Agricultural University of Athens took part in this year’s edition of the Delphi Economic Forum, and in the panel "Urban Planning or Urban Sprawl?", following an invitation by the Hellenic Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET).