Athens Mayor urges suspension of building height increase in Athens

Athens Mayor Haris Doukas has issued an open letter to Minister of Environment and Energy Theodore Skylakakis, urging the suspension of a ministerial decision "envisaging the implementation of increased building heights." 

Doukas, in his letter, poses two critical questions: "Can Athens endure more cement, taller buildings, and increased building ratios? What is the social need that the city is called upon to fulfill with more cement, taller buildings, and increased building ratios?" He emphasizes, "With knowledge and sincere concern for the future of our city, the answers to the above questions are clear. Athens cannot. Unchecked construction without a thorough study of the city's capacity is a danger signal for the urgent rationalization of urban planning and land use."

The letter states that the ministerial decision "has placed the municipality in an administrative...