Larissa, Greece
Population: 200,000
Larissa is located in the center of Greece, in the middle of the largest plain of the country, under the shadow of Mount Olympus and near the Tempi Valley. The largest city in central Greece, Larissa is a transportation, educational, administrative and cultural hub. With a history spanning 8,000 years by the riverbanks of Peneus river, the city is - according to many historians - one of the oldest in Europe, with modern Larissa literally built on top of the ruins of the ancient city.
CLEVER Cities plans
Larissa plans to replicate CLEVER Cities methods of co-creation to transform the Ethiage area into a public park. Located in the southern part of the city, the area has post-industrial characteristics and is currently seen as an ‘urban vacuum’. It has been a long-standing demand to incorporate the development of the area into the greater city planning.
The goal is to involve the local community, schools, residents and other stakeholders in the discussions over the future development of the Ethiage area, the creation of the public park and the reuse of the warehouses.
In the summer of 2018, the city launched an architectural contest to provide ideas, including the use of ‘green interventions’.
Latest news from Larissa
Early Pioneers: CLEVER Fellow Cities blaze possible trails towards the EU Urban Greening Plans
27 August 2021

To help reverse biodiversity loss within and around urban areas, the EU has called on European cities of more than 20,000 inhabitants to develop ambitious Urban Greening Plans in support of its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
Through their involvement in CLEVER Cities, the project’s Fellow Cities Belgrade (Serbia), Larissa (Greece), Madrid (Spain), Malmö (Sweden) and Sfântu Gheorghe (Romania) are conducting pioneer work that is already making significant contributions to the EU Urban Greening Plans initiative. So is Quito (Ecuador), the only non-European Fellow in CLEVER Cities.
Malmö welcomes fellow cities to kick-off in Lindängen
31 May 2019

“Green rush to Lindängen”: this is the vision that the CLEVER Cities team in Malmö (Sweden) has set for its CLEVER Action Lab. The Malmö team - hosts of the Kick-off Workshop for fellow cities, which took place on 16-17 May 2019 - presented their vision of a peaceful, healthy, biodiverse and proud neighbourhood, with future headlines covering the green rush to visit Lindängen’s buzzing bee hotels and trails of plants from North to South.
Participants from Belgrade (Serbia), Larissa (Greece), Sfântu Gheorghe (Romania) and Quito (Ecuador) also presented the visions for their CLEVER Action labs.