Changing approaches to urban intervention in Greece: The Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) as a tool for sustainable urban development G. Katsavounidou Architect, PhD Head of Department of Operational Planning, Municipality of Veria, Veria 59132, Greece E-mail: fyllio.katsavounidou@gmail.com, Tel +302331350594, Mob: +306934015750 Abstract A new feature in the current Programmatic Period is that EU funds for sustainable urban development are channelled to local authorities through the mandatory implementation of the Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) tool. A reshaping of urban intervention philosophy is thus taking place: a shift towards an integrated approach that regards urban space in its broad sense, meaning not only the built environment, but also the social and economic space of the city, its relation to the natural environment, and its impact on climate change. Furthermore, the integrated approach forces municipalities to adopt government approaches uncommon until now: to involve multiple stakeholders including residents and other civil communities-of-interest in the entire process. The paper focuses on the city of Veria, where the ITI tool has recently been used in the formation of a Sustainable Urban Development Strategy for its historical centre. Keywords: sustainable urban development; European Union; Integrated Territorial Investment; Greek cities; urban intervention. 1. INTRODUCTION The Europe2020 Strategy strongly emphasizes the crucial role cities are to play towards sustainability, in response to both the reality of climate change and the growing importance of cities in the pursuit of territorial cohesion. With around three quarters of its population living in urban areas, Europe is the world’s most urbanised continent. However, the same attributes that make urban living preferable (proximity to employment, vibrant and diverse everyday life, economic benefits) are the ones that put increasing challenges to environmental and social sustainability [1]. In the two previous Programmatic Periods, from 2000 onwards, the European Union implemented a series of strategies to promote urban interventions through the prism of sustainability in its member countries. In Greece, however, the materialisation of EU Operational Programmes has hardly targeted on a holistic approach but rather on fragmented interventions of a purely physical-spatial character, since the concept of “urban intervention” has for many decades been misinterpreted as “public works.” The main reason for this setback is undoubtedly the established modus operandi of Greek urban politics, but a wider political issue has also been playing a major role: the Greek “reluctance” in implementing EU philosophies is definitely a feature of the ambivalent public opinion about the EU itself. Significantly, from the 1990’s onwards, many sociologists and political theorists have been emphasizing that the Greek model of adjustment to EU mandates falls into the category of “accommodation” without a real transformation taking place [2,3]. In the current (2014-2020) Programmatic Period, a notable change is taking place in the area of urban regeneration projects: EU-funded actions are now channelled via the Regional Operational Programs through the mandatory implementation of the Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) tool. The Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) tool is a key element of the European Union (EU)