The 10 events for the 10th anniversary of our Thessaloniki Office began on the morning of 30 June with a guided tour of the "Pili Axiou" social housing estate, located in the district of Xirokrini in the municipality of Thessaloniki, around the twelve-storey apartment buildings. The aim was to tour the settlement, learn about the history of social housing in Greece and about the particular features of the post-war social housing complexes, as well as to be informed about the new and promising initiative of the municipality of Thessaloniki regarding the provision of social and affordable housing.

Our meeting point was the former Neighbourhood Room in the twelve-storey blocks of flats, where we could have a look at student ideas and proposals for intervention in the area, which were designed at the Urban Design Laboratory, Department of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Starting our walk, we immediately noticed the assets of an organized urban design, as the area is characterized by low residential density and offers many communal and public, undeveloped spaces with plenty of greenery. These are after all the points that were particularly highlighted by Athina Vitopoulou, Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In the first stop of the tour, and using the example of the specific neighbourhood and its buildings, Athina Vitopoulou talked about the characteristics of post-war social housing - with a special reference to the twelve-storey apartment buildings, which are a type of social housing unique in Greece, which has not been repeated since then.

Of particular value was the spontaneous intervention of a local resident, whose family has been in the neighbourhood for three generations. She spoke about the advantages of the district, such as the comfortable and pleasant apartments, the parks and schools, the sense of community that has developed among the residents, but also about the many problems, such as the area's neglect by the municipal authorities, the lack of street lighting and the increasing security issues.

In the second stop of the tour, Dimitra Siatitsa, PhD in Urban Planning, NTUA, researcher on housing and urban issues, referred to the origins of social housing in Greece, the discontinuities observed over the years and the specific characteristics of the efforts to develop the social housing model in the country.

The third and last stop of the tour was dedicated to the present and the future, where it is no longer advisable to build new houses but rather to use the existing ones. Meriç Özgüneş, Head of Planning and Policy Development in the field of Right to Housing at Major Development Agency Thessaloniki, and Anestis Telidis, Special Advisor to the Mayor of Thessaloniki for Financial Management, presented the Social and Affordable Housing Provider, an important pilot effort of the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the Major Development Agency Thessaloniki SA. Specifically, the Provider tracks down the unused housing stock, which has been shown by studies to be very large, and asks it from the owners for management at a low rent, giving them a series of incentives, such as the complete renovation and energy upgrade of the house as well as a long-term guarantee of payment of the rent. This process is expected to hold or even bring down rental prices across the housing market, and thus protect the fundamental right of access to affordable housing for all.