The City Dipole as a Regional Development Tool: The Case of the Dipole Tripoli-Kalamata in Greece
The City Dipole as a Regional Development Tool: The Case of the Dipole Tripoli-Kalamata in Greece

Summary/Abstract: The voting of the National Plan for Regional and Sustainable Development in 2008, led to the creation of a holistic development planning in Greece. The scope of the Plan is to contribute to the development of Greece, depending on regional development and the best possible use of the natural resources. Upon setting the basic priorities and strategic directions for the holistic landscape development, the landscape organization of the national poles are of specific interest. The Plan puts the dipole Tripoli-Kalamata amongst the Secondary National Poles, which means that the dipole is on the third level, after the metropolitan centers and the primary national poles. Tripoli (~30.000 inhabitants) is the capital of the Peloponnese Region, situated at the center, whereas Kalamata (~55.000 inhabitants) is situated at the southern part of the Region. This dipole is setting a new regional structure for southern Greece, as this is the first time that these 90-km-apart middle sized Peloponnesian cities are bound together in this way, in any regional development plan. Until recently these two cities have been rather competitive. In «Kallicrates», a programme of wide transformation regarding Local Governance (municipalities and prefectures) starting on January 2011, Tripoli and Kalamata will be called upon playing their own development role in Peloponnese. Therefore, the function of the dipole can be a challenge and a regional development tool. This Paper examines the possible cooperation fields among the two cities, Tripoli and Kalamata, and searches the possibilities of the development of the two cities and the Region.

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