Special session:
TOWARDS A HUMAN-CENTRED AI ERA
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND EUROPEAN POLICIES: CHALLENGES, BEST PRACTICES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Vassilis Bokolas
Scientific director, XENIOS POLIS, Neapolis University
Andrea Colantoni
Associate Professor, University of Tuscia
Stavros Kaperonis
Assistant Professor, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Efi Ntrouva
PhD Sociologist, Researcher, European Union and International Partnerships, Directorate, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
Content:
The rapid development of artificial intelligence and emerging digital technologies is transforming the economy, employment, education, public administration and everyday life. At the same time, it creates significant opportunities for scientific progress, social innovation, the improvement of services, and the response to complex social and environmental challenges.
However, technological progress is accompanied by critical questions concerning human rights, personal data protection, transparency, accountability, safety, equal access, and the risk of widening existing social inequalities. At the same time, the increasing use of digital infrastructures and artificial intelligence systems raises important issues related to energy consumption, the use of natural resources, the environmental footprint of technologies, and their contribution to the green transition.
The development and application of artificial intelligence are therefore not exclusively technological matters. They are directly connected to social values, democratic principles, environmental priorities, institutional choices, and public policies.
This special session aims to create an interdisciplinary forum for dialogue on the transition towards a human-centred, socially just, and environmentally sustainable technological future. It invites contributions on the use and governance of AI in cities and regions, including local public services, community wellbeing and environmental management. Particular emphasis will be placed on European policies, ethical and regulatory issues, social and environmental sustainability, digital inclusion, the green and digital transition, and the presentation of best practices from Europe and other regions of the world.
Indicative Themes
– Human-centred and trustworthy artificial intelligence.
– AI and social and environmental sustainability in cities and regions.
– The social and environmental impact of emerging technologies.
– European legislation and policies on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
– Digital rights, ethics, and data protection.
– Artificial intelligence in education, employment, healthcare, and public services.
– Migration and artificial intelligence.
– Social inclusion, accessibility, and digital inequalities.
– Green and digital transformation.
– The energy use and environmental footprint of artificial intelligence.
– Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies for climate action, the circular economy, and the sustainable management of resources.
– Best practices from European and international projects.
– Cooperation among universities, public authorities, businesses, and civil society organisations.
Special session:
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY. AN INDICATOR OF SOCIAL EQUITY AND LOCAL POLITICAL WILL.
Ricardo Iglesias-Pascual
Associate Professor at Pablo de Olavide University. Department of Geography, History and Philosophy.
Content:
The sociologist Eric Klinenberg considered that a set of physical and institutional infrastructures can be found in cities that are crucial for the development and maintenance of social cohesion and connections, known as social infrastructures, which include social spaces such as libraries, parks, sports facilities, schools and community centers. Which all play a key role in fostering processes of social integration and cohesion in the city. In a dominant neoliberal social model characterized by a continuous liberalization of the economic system, a thinning of government regulation, a growing precariousness of labor with significant levels of underemployment and unemployment, a rise in the dynamics of social polarization, increased uncertainty over ethnic and cultural diversity, the predominance of an individualistic and hedonistic philosophy the role of social infrastructures plays a key role as an indicator of the model of social equity and the political direction of public policy at local authority level. In this vein, this special session welcomes contributions that analyse the role of social infrastructure in the city and assess the varying levels of accessibility according to the characteristics of the residents or the neighbourhoods in which they are located.
Key words: Social Infrastructure, Inequality, Local Police, Urban Areas
Special session:
“SEAS” AND “RIVERS” OF IDEAS
Dr. Konstantinos Moraitis
Professor Emeritus N.T.U.A.
Dr. Maria Markatou
Head of Urban Planning Department, Municipality of Larissa, Greece
memarkatou@gmail.com
Content:
The well-known international term “landscape” emphasizes its relationship to “land,” to solid ground. However, the need for a conceptual expansion of our practical and theoretical interests has introduced the complementary terms “seascape” and “waterscape.”
In a country like ours, Greece, endowed with the quality of the eastern Mediterranean and its idyllic network of islands, the first of these references, the “seascape”, has, most obviously, a central interest. It appears to be environmentally, naturally central, but also culturally and politically central. Ideas of cultural and political reference emerge or sink in our seas, litter our coastlines, and embrace our islands. Let us refer to them by relating environmental sustainability to their cultural and political sustainability, the one that has saved our existence and kept us active and intelligent for millennia.
As for the “water landscape”? We are, of course, referring to water formations that may complement our landscape design, as well as the need for environmental protection and the promotion of wetlands, lakes, and river routes, in contact with or within urban areas or in the countryside. The recent, continuous catastrophic episodes convince us of the need to refer to their protection. However, our environmentally oriented “rivers of ideas” should not distance us from a second direction of interest. The one which, perhaps, still hosts nymphs and aquatic mythical deities in our lakes and rivers and which, certainly, constantly refers to references that run through our oldest and most recent history.
Special session:
MNEMOTECHNICS AND PLACE FORMATION: CONVENTIONAL MUSEUMS AND OPEN-AIR LANDSCAPE MUSEOGRAPHY
Dr. Konstantinos Moraitis
Professor Emeritus N.T.U.A.
Content:
In his book Writing and Difference (French: L’écriture et la différence) the French philosopher Jacques Derrida describes memory as the key mental function that forms human cognition, on an individual as well as collective level. Nevertheless, he notes, memory cannot be stabilized. It is, continuously, in a state of transformation, not because of the continuous change of the surrounding socio-cultural context solely, but also because of the intentional political control.
It is in this context that The Archeology of Knowledge (French: L’archéologie du savoir), the reciprocal evolution of knowledge, can never be objective in an unaltered manner. In his homonymous theoretical approach, Michel Foucault insists that we must not try to trace a linear history of ideas. On the contrary, we ought to indicate the structures and rules that organize the social discourse and, thus, unveil the historical and social conditions that regulate the production of memory, and their association with the power influences that try to form them.
Place references have always been important receptors for the formation or contestation of collective memory. Monumental structures, buildings, sculptures, and monumental open-air public urban places intend to stabilize, present, and promote historical memory. At the same time, symbolic landscape references, ‘Arcadias’, dispersed all over the world, may also contribute to the emplacement of collective, cultural, and political imagery. In the opposite direction, it is in the open-air public urban places that social dispute, the embodied ‘discourse’, the collective debates, often aggressive, nevertheless socially important, are presented.
Concluding: In what ways could we promote critical ‘mnemotechnics’, critical reference to social memory, to social historic past and social future, using place formation? Could we re-‘place’ conventional monumentality and conventional museums, could we ‘place’ critical memory and open-air museography, in the urban-scape or in the out-of-cities landscape? In what ways could we invigorate critical discourse, using real material landscape formation or navigation to immaterial associations? Could this last immaterial voyage be invigorated through digital approaches, or would it be mutilated through the disembodiment of cultural relations?
Special Session:
“MIND THE GAP“: BRIDGING ACADEMIA, PLANNING PRACTICE AND LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION
Lalenis Konstantinos
Professor, University of Thessaly
klalenis@uth.gr
Content
Spatial planning is today advancing on two tracks that rarely meet. On the first, academia researches, publishes and teaches an expanding vocabulary of concepts — spatial and climate resilience, the co-production of urban space, circular economy, artificial intelligence and data-driven planning, renewed forms of participatory planning, planning for refugees and for demographic change. On the second, urban and regional plans are prepared by planning practitioners under official State guidelines and technical specifications, and are subsequently implemented by local authorities within tight legal, administrative and financial constraints.
The session argues that the gap between the two tracks opens in two successive stages. It appears first at the stage of study and plan preparation, where the terms of reference, the statutory content of plans and the time and cost of the process leave limited room for concepts elaborated in academia to enter the documents at all. It deepens decisively at the stage of implementation, where the distance between innovative planning approaches and what is actually delivered on the ground frequently becomes unbridgeable — and where the innovative content that did survive plan-making is often the first to be dropped.
The “Konstantinos Doxiadis” urban planning reform programme in Greece, offers an unusually rich case for examining this double gap. Running for more than three years, funded through the Recovery and Resilience Facility and intended to cover the greater part of the national territory and the majority of Greek municipalities with Local and Special Urban Plans, it has generated new legislation, new assignments and a very large body of planning work produced in parallel and at speed. It therefore allows the question to be asked empirically rather than rhetorically: what, of the current theoretical elaboration, has entered these plans — and what has not?
The session invites contributions from academics and from practitioners alike: accounts of experience, critical positions, and concrete proposals on the integration of contemporary theoretical advances in plan-making and implementation. Contributions presenting cases from outside Greece and beyond the Doxiadis programme are particularly welcome, as they provide the ground for comparative analysis and establish the issue as a European and international one, rather than a national peculiarity.
Special session:
HISTORIC URBAN LANDSCAPES AND URBAN RESILIENCE: RETHINKING CULTURAL HERITAGE IN CONTEMPORARY CITIES
Dr. Despina Dimelli
Professor, Technical University of Crete
Content:
Historic urban landscapes are increasingly exposed to multiple and interconnected pressures, including climate change, environmental degradation, tourism intensification, demographic transformation, housing pressures, gentrification, and socio-spatial inequalities. At the same time, historic urban areas represent valuable repositories of cultural identity, collective memory, traditional knowledge, local practices, and spatial structures that can contribute to the resilience and sustainability of contemporary cities.
This special session explores the relationship between cultural heritage and urban resilience, moving beyond conventional conservation approaches towards an understanding of historic urban landscapes as dynamic socio-spatial systems. Emphasis is placed on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach as a framework for integrating heritage conservation with contemporary urban planning, climate adaptation, environmental sustainability, and social development.
The session invites contributions examining how historic urban environments can respond to emerging challenges while maintaining their cultural significance, identity, and sense of place. Topics may include climate adaptation in historic centers, coastal and environmental risks, urban heat, flooding, green infrastructure, adaptive reuse, traditional urban morphology, sustainable mobility, and the regeneration of public spaces.
The session will also address the social and economic dimensions of resilience. Historic neighborhoods are increasingly affected by overtourism, short-term rentals, rising housing costs, gentrification, commercialization, and the displacement of local communities. These processes raise critical questions about inclusive heritage governance, housing affordability, social justice, and the role of local communities in shaping resilient historic environments.
Interdisciplinary contributions from urban planning, architecture, heritage studies, geography, landscape studies, environmental sciences, tourism, sociology, and urban policy are particularly encouraged. Both theoretical and empirical papers, including comparative case studies and innovative methodologies using GIS, spatial indicators, participatory approaches, and resilience assessment tools, are welcome.
Key Words: Historic Urban Landscape; urban resilience; cultural heritage; climate adaptation; sustainable urban development; adaptive reuse; social resilience; heritage governance; housing; overtourism.
Special session:
CO2 CAPTURE AND STORAGE: BRIDGING TECHNOLOGY, SOCIETY AND GOVERNANCE
Dimitrios Mendrinos
Head of Geothermal energy and CO2 storage department,
Centre of Renewable Energy Sources and Saving
dmendrin@cres.gr
Dr. Olympia Polyzou
Geothermal energy and CO2 storage department,
Centre of Renewable Energy Sources and Saving
Content:
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is increasingly recognized as a critical technology pathway for achieving climate mitigation targets, yet its large-scale deployment remains contingent not only on technological maturity but also on public acceptance and effective risk governance.
This session brings together contributions that address CCS from complementary angles: the technical frontiers of CO2 capture, storage and synthetic fuel conversion, alongside the social dimensions that shape how these technologies are perceived, regulated, and ultimately deployed.
By combining technological, social, and governance perspectives, the session aims to foster an integrated discussion on the pathways and obstacles towards the sustainable and socially accepted implementation of CCS in cities and regions.
Main Topics
Public perception and social acceptance of CCS: attitudes, trust, awareness, and factors shaping public support or opposition to CCS projects
Risk governance of CCS: regulatory frameworks, institutional decision-making, accountability, and procedural/distributive justice in CCS deployment
Direct air capture technologies: technical advances and applications of CO2 capture from the atmosphere
CO2 utilization and sustainable fuel production: conversion of captured CO2 into sustainable fuels and other value-added products
Special session:
ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN URBAN, RURAL AND ISLAND AREAS
Olga-Eleni Astara
Associate Professor, University of West Attica
Michalis Skordoulis
Assistant Professor, University of West Attica
Content:
“Alternative Forms of Tourism and Sustainable Development in Urban, Rural and Island Areas” explores how tourism contributes to the creation of more sustainable, resilient and inclusive destinations. Moving beyond the traditional mass-tourism model, it focuses on alternative forms of tourism – such as cultural tourism, ecotourism, agritourism, gastronomic tourism, educational tourism and community tourism – that can protect the environment, preserve cultural heritage and create meaningful benefits for local communities. Particular attention will be paid to the different opportunities and challenges faced by cities, rural areas and islands, including climate change, overtourism, seasonality, regional inequalities and increasing pressure on natural and cultural resources.
The special session welcomes contributions from researchers, practitioners, policymakers and other tourism stakeholders who wish to share knowledge, experiences and good practices. Discussions may address sustainable destination planning, community participation, local entrepreneurship, digital innovation, accessibility and social inclusion, climate resilience and the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of tourism. Through an open and interdisciplinary dialogue, the session aims to highlight practical and innovative ways in which alternative tourism can strengthen local identity, diversify local economies and improve the quality of life of both residents and visitors.”
Special session:
LANDSCAPES OF MEMORY: HERITAGE AND RESILIENCE IN CONTEMPORARY CITIES
Maria Grigoriadou
Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece
magrigor@arch.duth.gr
Elena Samourkasidou
Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Architecture, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece
e.samourkasidou@gmail.com
Content:
Contemporary cities and regions are increasingly challenged by climate change, environmental degradation, demographic shifts, rapid urbanisation and socio-economic transformations. Addressing these interconnected challenges requires integrated approaches that recognize cultural heritage, landscape and public space as strategic resources for sustainable and resilient development.
Rather than considering heritage solely as an asset of the past, this Special Session explores its active role in shaping the future of cities. Historic urban environments, cultural landscapes and collective memory contribute to place identity, social cohesion and environmental quality while supporting adaptive and resilient urban transformation.
The session invites interdisciplinary contributions that investigate how architecture, urban design and heritage conservation can contribute to resilient and sustainable cities. Particular emphasis is placed on integrated planning approaches that connect the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) framework with climate adaptation, public space, cultural tourism, community participation and place-based development.
Recognising that sustainable development requires the interaction of environmental, social, economic and cultural dimensions, the session welcomes theoretical, methodological and practice-oriented contributions demonstrating how heritage can become a catalyst for resilient communities and sustainable urban futures.
Indicative topics:
– Adaptive reuse of historic buildings and sites
– Spatial transformations in historic urban areas
– The cultural and industrial Urban Landscape approach in contemporary cities
– Sustainable architectural conservation
– Cultural landscapes and urban design
– Public space, memory and cultural identity
– Heritage as a driver of cultural tourism
– Contemporary architecture in historic contexts
– Heritage and resilience in smart cities
– Participatory approaches in heritage and urban design
Special session:
SECURITY CORPS AND THEIR MISSION IN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF CITIES AND PORTS
Dr. Antonios Maniatis
Permanent Assistant Professor of Law at the Merchant Navy Academy of Aspropyrgos, Greece
a.maniatis@yna.gov.gr
Content:
This track explores the institutional nature, legal status, purpose, mission and public service role of Security Corps in the sustainable development of cities and ports. It welcomes interdisciplinary research on policing, fire safety, civil protection, maritime security, environmental protection, disaster resilience, climate adaptation, critical infrastructure, public administration and legal frameworks. Contributions addressing the role of the official Security Corps of the Greek State (Hellenic Police, Fire Corps and Hellenic Coast Guard), as well as their counterparts in other States and other public security institutions, in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals are particularly encouraged.
Indicative Topics
– Legal and institutional frameworks governing Security Corps and their contribution to sustainable development
– Security Corps and the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
– Police, Fire Services and Coast Guards as actors in resilient, safe and sustainable cities and ports
– Climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and civil protection
– Ports, maritime security and sustainable development
– Fire safety as the purpose and mission of the Fire Corps
Special Session:
SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION AND HEALTH
Dologlou Maria
PhD Athens University of Economics and Business, Post doc researcher Harokopeio University of Athens
Content
The social dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight the importance of reducing inequalities, promoting health and well-being, ensuring quality education, and fostering inclusive and equitable societies. These goals are closely interconnected, as social and economic conditions can significantly influence both educational opportunities and health outcomes.
Education and health are fundamental pillars of social sustainability. Access to quality education can improve health awareness, social participation and quality of life, while health and well-being are essential conditions for learning, personal development and educational achievement. Addressing inequalities in these areas is therefore crucial for achieving sustainable and resilient societies.
This Special Session focuses on the interconnections between the social dimensions of sustainable development, education and health. It aims to promote interdisciplinary research and the exchange of practices that contribute to social inclusion, equal opportunities, well-being and sustainable development.
Indicative Topics
– Social Dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals
– Education, Health and Social Sustainability
– Social Inequalities and Access to Education and Health
– Quality Education, Health and Well-being
– Poverty, Social Exclusion and Sustainable Development
– Gender Equality, Education and Health
– Health and Education Inequalities
– Social Inclusion and Equal Opportunities
– Education and Health as Drivers of Sustainable Development
– Best Practices for Inclusive and Sustainable Societies
Special session:
AI, GEOAI, AND AR FOR LANDSCAPE PLANNING AND SUSTAINABILITY
Dr.Dr.Fivos Papadimitriou
Department of Geography, University of Tübingen
Content:
This special session focuses on the integration of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) in sustainable landscape planning at local or regional scale.
Faced with ever-growing environmental problems, cities and regions today have access to revolutionary technologies enabling analysis, visualization and transformation of landscapes towards achieving sustainability goals.
This special session addresses interdisciplinary research exploring applications of AI (of all sorts), AR (e.g., for evaluating proposed interventions in the landscape), GeoAI and geospatial analytics for integrating diverse environmental data into planning, as well as digital games and gamification.
Hence, the thematic areas addressed include (but are not limited to) predictive modeling of landscapes, immersive spatial visualizations, interactive landscape design, intelligent environmental monitoring and data-driven approaches for green infrastructure.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, GeoAI, Landscape, Games, Sustainability
Special session:
ISLANDS IN TRANSITION: INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY, TOURISM AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE
Maria P. Doumi
Associate Professor, Department of Tourism Economics and Management, University of the Aegean
Andreas Alexopoulos
Associate Professor, Department of Accounting and Finance, University of West Attica
Iason-Nikolaos Koufodontis
Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism Economics and Management, University of the Aegean
Ioanna Pagoni
Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism Economics and Management, University of the Aegean
Eleftheria Klontza
Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism Economics and Management, University of the Aegean
Angelis Vasilis
Emeritus Professor, Department of Business Administration, University of the Aegean
Content:
This Special Session aims to explore contemporary theoretical, methodological and applied approaches related to the sustainable, resilient and inclusive development of cities, regions, rural areas and tourism destinations. In the context of complex environmental, social, economic and technological transformations, the need for integrated and evidence-based models of spatial and tourism development is becoming increasingly imperative.
The session focuses on the interconnections between urban, regional, rural and tourism systems, highlighting issues of multi-level governance, strategic and participatory planning, digital transformation, smart specialisation, circular economy, bioeconomy, social innovation and climate resilience. Emphasis is placed on the role of sustainable and smart tourism as a field that connects local resources, cultural heritage, agri-food systems, local production networks and destination experiences.
Special session:
“RUINS for Athens”. Repurposing Urban Initiative for Neighborhood Sustainability
Dr. Riva Lava
Professor N.T.U.A.
Content
RUINS° for Athens presents an innovative pilot intervention in public space and a model of good practice, reflecting on the principles of the circular economy, participation and sustainability. Through the reuse of stone materials from an 80-year-old house under demolition on Apolloniou Street, at the foot of the Philopappos Hill, the project designs and delivers a pedestrian street directly in front of the site, along with a staircase at its end, creating a physical connection between Ano Petralona and Philopappou Hill.
The project is implemented through a combination of participatory and educational design, with a strong emphasis on preserving collective memory and reducing the environmental footprint of the built environment. Its methodology includes Living Lab–type workshops with architecture students, a pilot implementation through a hands-on workshop, the development of a methodological guide to support contemporary urban policy-making, a detailed implementation study, the realisation of the intervention, and a set of dissemination and outreach actions.
RUINS° for Athens is implemented and co-developed by the School of Architecture of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the ENA Institute for Alternative Policies, with the active support of the Municipality of Athens and the contribution of the Ephorate of Modern Monuments of Attica.
Special session:
THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE ARMED FORCES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Maniou Fotini
Ph.D. C. Harokopio University of Athens
Content:
National defense and security constitute a top public good, which is essential for the protection of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the assurance of social prosperity. In this context, it is necessary to mention the interconnection of the Armed Forces with sustainable development, technological innovation and operational readiness.
More specifically, this interconnection is achieved by having as the foundation of the country’s modern strategy the Greek naval history, which in the 21st century is being redefined, connecting traditional deterrent power with modern sustainable development in the Greek seas. The role of the Navy is very important in protecting the seas, adapting to climate change and contributing to maritime spatial planning. The integration of drones in sustainable development (e.g. environmental surveillance), addressing threats with anti-drone systems and financing innovative dual-use technologies are areas that concern modern Armed Forces.
However, all of the above cannot be achieved without personnel and their readiness. The requirements go beyond traditional military tasks as there is continuous retraining of personnel and technological specialization: The role of the armed forces is twofold. It is related to both defense and civil protection for the immediate response to natural disasters (fires, floods, earthquakes).
The purpose of this field is to promote interdisciplinary dialogue and the exchange of research
findings and best practices that highlight the role of the Armed Forces in modern challenges.
Indicative Topics
– Armed Forces and Sustainable Development
– Maritime Spatial Planning
– Climate Change & Armed Forces
– Funding & Innovation Ecosystem
– Commercial Drones & Anti-Drone Systems
– The Integration of Drones into Sustainable Development
– Blue Armed Forces: The Contribution of the Navy to the Environmental Security of our Seas
– Operational Readiness & Crisis Management
– Nutrition and Uniforms
– Greek Naval History
Special session:
CULTURE AND EDUCATION: INTERDISCIPLINARY PATHWAYS TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
Anna-Irene Τsatalmpasoglou
rena.tsatalbassoglou@gmail.com
Foteini Maniou
Content:
Sustainable development is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional process that integrates environmental, social, economic and cultural dimensions. Within this context, culture and education play a fundamental role in shaping values and fostering responsible attitudes.
This Special Session focuses on how cultural heritage, educational practices and creative entrepreneurship can serve as drivers of sustainable development by fostering innovation, collaboration and the active engagement of local communities.
The session aims to promote interdisciplinary dialogue and the exchange of research findings and best practices that highlight the role of culture and education in addressing contemporary social, environmental and economic challenges.
Indicative Topics
– Culture and Sustainable Development
– Cultural Entrepreneurship
– Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
– Cultural Tourism and Sustainable Local Development
– Cultural and Literary Routes
– Creative Approaches to Heritage Interpretation and Promotion
– Best Practices Linking Culture, Education and Sustainability