Informal Development Due to Market Pressure -- A Case Study on Cyprus and the Role of Land Administration
Results of a detailed two-year research conducted by the authors are presented in this paper. It is shown that, among other reasons, informal constructions also appear in several attractive European areas due to increased market pressure. In the first part an introduction on the current state-of-the-art of informal development in Europe is presented and the findings of the research are given in brief about three Mediterranean countries: Spain, Albania, and Greece. Although the social, economic, administrative and cultural situation and the extent of informal development vary among these countries, current identified major causes for informal development are: migration in search of work and shelter, lack of affordable housing, and increased market pressure combined with inefficient land administration and/or permitting and controlling procedures. In part two of this paper, an in-depth research on Cyprus, a country which had never experienced informal development until recently, is presented. The research aims to focus especially on the risk due to increased market interest, whose economic benefits overwhelm even the long established regulatory systems for the management and administration of land. 
This original research shows that informal development is emerging in Cyprus as well. This very new phenomenon is caused by the rapid national and international market pressure in both urban and rural areas of the island. A description of the land administration tools and the procedures regulating land development is given; weaknesses of the system to meet the current needs are identified; and proposals for its improvement are offered. Relevant statistics are derived through a research on the cadastral and planning data. It is proved that recent interest in popular areas often leads to informal development.Considerations are presented concerning the importance of a continuously upgrading multipurpose and reliable land administration and regulatory system, which is vital for the security of tenure, the support of the emerging market needs, and for providing for sustainable land-uses.
Informal settlements in Greece: The mystery of missing information and the difficulty of their integration into a legal framework
SUMMARY According to the rough available statistics, it is estimated that approximately 25% of the housing construction in Greece has informalities. However, informal settlements in Greece are unlike such settlements in poorer countries (informal settlements in poorer countries are apt to be in large ”slum-like” communities where the very poor people have established settlements with whatever materials may be available). The most common informality in Greece on the other hand, is construction on small, legally-owned land parcels, in areas having no formal urban plan, which is often accomplished simply by proceeding without building licenses. The existing informalities resulted from various causes, among them insufficient spatial planning, old and complex legislation, lack of housing policy, bureaucracy, and outdated public administration structure. The state attempts to integrate these informal settlements into a legal status by extending the formal urban plans, but this is a costly and time consuming procedure. This paper investigates the development of informal settlements in the Hellenic state, makes a distinction between the situation in Greece in comparison to other countries, identifies and classifies the causes, the infrastructure, the land policy, and the major problems these informalities create in land management, environmental protection, the land market, and finally to the national economy. A categorization of the informalities and their impact on the modern society is attempted. Emphasis is given to the close interrelationship between land management and land administration in dealing with this issue. Proposals are suggested for the necessary initiatives to be taken by experts and the government in order to identify new tools, mechanisms, policy, legislation, and the role of the private sector in land management in Greece. Measures must be taken to give a realistic and sustainable solution to the existing problem, to discourage the creation of new problems, to unlock the land market to meet the needs of the local and international environment, and to realize the expected social and economic benefits from the Hellenic Cadastre Project. The experience derived from the situation in Greece is expected to be of some value to the countries in the broader region of Eastern Europe and North Africa who experience similar situations. An exchange of information and knowledge is encouraged.
The Necessity for Nation- wide Public- Public Coordination for Effective Land Administration
The aim of this paper is first to outline the necessity for better intergovernmental coordination on Land Administration (LA) aspects, and second to give some general recommendations, for the common benefit, for the implementation of successful land policy in a more cost-effective way. By coordinating the main relative activities, responsible governmental organizations can avoid the duplication of effort and develop an integrated policy. Through that, they can have a clear picture of all land management issues and they can jointly focus towards resolving the problems and applying good land administration, which promotes an active Land Market and productive land use. Although it is clear that the organizational structures and LA priorities differ widely from country to country, an analysis of some major Hellenic LA aspects is given by example, both to emphasize the achieved progress and the benefits derived from some “best practice” examples, but also to outline the still existing great difficulty in the Public-Public coordination, in general. Some considerations derived from the Hellenic experience, and some recommendations of common interest are shared.