6.1 identification and hierarchisation of the needs

On the basis of the analysis and on the basis of the data given in Chapter 1, proposed area to be incorporated into the programme presents the following socio-economic characteristics:

• Economic structure characterised by structural problems such as a percentage of traditional activities (e.g., craft industry) and absence of new dynamic activities (e.g., services to companies), parallel to the very reduced size of the companies (which are "companies" made up of only one self-employed person).
• High official unemployment, both in relative and absolute terms, and higher semi-official unemployment. The latter characteristic is in relation to the high percentage of informal economic activities.
• Very problematic population pyramid, where the highest age brackets dominate.
• Low training level and high proportion of illiterates.
• Acute phenomena of inequalities between men and women: (a) the economic activities give only a reduced number of opportunities to women, in particular as a result of n and to the predominance of small enterprises of employed persons; (b) the absence of support infrastructure suchthe children''s nursery schools and the large number of old people force women to remain to the hearth and to ensure "unremunerated" services, and reduce of as much their possibilities of taking part in labour market.
• Concentration of numerous immigrants and of Gypsies (socially integrated).

The area also presents problems from the point of view of the environmental conditions:

• Traditional adjustment of the roadway system which goes back to the Ottoman period and is not appropriate absolutely for the needs of the movement.
• Property park presenting problems of two natures: old buildings deteriorated by lack of conservation measures, and new buildings of very bad quality (illegal and/or at low prices and improvised ).
• Very bad conditions of housing (taking into consideration indicators such as the useful surface area of dwelling per capita).
• Problems of waste water evacuation and of cleanliness, and deterioration of image of public space.

The above-mentioned features are intensified and are stressed by space-time data.

Firstly they concentrate in a given area (Agios Minas - Agia Triada - Kaminia), which constitutes a subset of the town of Heraklion of which the population is considered currently at approximately 20,000 inhabitants (i.e. 1/7 of the population of the city). This area is characterised as a whole, and taking into consideration all above-mentioned indicators, by extremely marked differences (obviously in the bad direction) in relation to the averages of Heraklion. Inside the area, the negative conditions are , despite certain differentiations by places (Agios Minas: deindustrialisation, Agia Triada: immigrants and Gypsies, Kaminia: illegal constructions, public ground usurpation), both from point of view of the economic aspect and of the environment.

Secondly, the deterioration of the area tends to accelerate in the time, which gives rise to negative tendencies and prevents the area from recovering of itself. These tendencies allow to foresee an even larger marginalisation.

In the context of the problems referred to above, the advantages of area are difficult to distinguish. However, they exist and one can summarise them in two groups:

A ) External Factors . The area forms part of the town of Heraklion, which is one of the most important and the most dynamic urban ones of Greece. Since, under the current conditions, the area is off from the general development of the city, it is necessary to create "cores" of innovation and of revalorisation, which will have a effect and which, in a secondary phase, will have multiple beneficial effects for the development of the city. Such a prospect is helped by the fact that the area is not very far away from the centre of the city.

The starting point of the creation of these cores (and, consequently, the recovery which will intervene in a secondary phase) could be given by interventions which will be planned, implemented and - as a general rule - financed by the public sector (Greek State and European Union), since current local dynamics appears particularly weak. It will be noted that certain interventions of this kind are programmed all around the area (for example, creation of a "pole" for the matches of football of the Olympic Games of 2004, etc). Although they are not enough to themselves to revivify the area, they can operate in synergy with a programme such as URBAN. It is also to be pointed out that it is envisaged creating a main road of rapid traffic that will pass through the area and will connect it to the centre of city and to the airport. This prospect is promising, because it improves the accessibility of the area appreciably and will allow adoption of new activities and of new assignments of the land, but it involves also risks of creation of environmental harmful effects, which must be prevented in time by urban planning.

 ) there are also certain local factors (proper to the area) which, though, are likely to support a regeneration strategy. These factors include the existence of a coast (which is today not exploitable, but represents a valuable capital for urban planning, leisure and tourism potentially), the conservation of a traditional and objectively interesting property park (even if it is not at the present time), to which certain old industrial sites must be added, extremely interesting and being oneself suitable for a reassignment (such as the building of the old electricity company, where the museum of natural history in Crete will be installed). The existence or the creation of other infrastructures envisaged in the surroundings makes it possible to create a cultural activity network presenting economies of scale. Lastly, even certain structural disadvantages, such as the predominance of very small enterprises, can, under certain conditions, be transformed into advantages, since the very small firms can, by means of the rather modest resource allocation (for training, initial aid for the new companies, etc), find certain dynamics thanks to their flexibility and create new jobs, and this much more easily than the major companies, since they are labour-intensive and not capital-intensive.are also certain local factors (proper to the area) which, though, are likely to support a regeneration strategy. These factors include the existence of a coast (which is today not exploitable, but represents a valuable capital for urban planning, leisure and tourism potentially), the conservation of a traditional and objectively interesting property park (even if it is not at the present time), to which certain old industrial sites must be added, extremely interesting and being oneself suitable for a reassignment (such as the building of the old electricity company, where the museum of natural history in Crete will be installed). The existence or the creation of other infrastructures envisaged in the surroundings makes it possible to create a cultural activity network presenting economies of scale. Lastly, even certain structural disadvantages, such as the predominance of very small enterprises, can, under certain conditions, be transformed into advantages, since the very small firms can, by means of the rather modest resource allocation (for training, initial aid for the new companies, etc), find certain dynamics thanks to their flexibility and create new jobs, and this much more easily than the major companies, since they are labour-intensive and not capital-intensive.

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