Dimos Pavlou Mela

Pavlos Melas is the third largest municipality of Greece’s sub capital, Thessaloniki, a historic city, which is also known as the “eternal city of Northern Greece”, as it has kept its urban character, since its foundation in 315 BC, by Cassander, the King of Macedonia. The municipality of Pavlos Melas was formed during the administrative reform that was introduced by the governmental Kallikratis plan (2010), and it is the result of the unification of three former municipalities, Efkarpia, Polichni and Stavroupoli. It was named after Pavlos Melas, a modern Greek hero of the Macedonian struggle, which liberated the area from the Ottomans, in 1912, after an almost 5 hundred year occupation.

The municipality of Pavlos Melas has currently a population of approximately 100000 people, and it covers an area of about 24 km2, including a mix of urban and peri-urban settlements. Pavlos Melas also owns a lot of urban open spaces, compared to other municipalities of Thessaloniki, and there is currently an ongoing project to convert a former military camp, located in the center of city, into a Green Metropolitan Park.

Pavlos Melas has a vibrant cultural scene, as well, enabling the organization of several festivals, particularly during the summer period.

Furthermore, as a part of Thessaloniki’s Metropolitan district, Pavlos Melas has a lot of historical points of interest, including a Neolithic settlement that dates back between 5600 and 4500 BC, a tomb of the late Copper age – prime Iron era (2500-950 BC), a complex of seven watermills and a wine-press, dating back to the Byzantine era, as well as a complex of buildings, named Moni Lazariston, which was constructed by the monks of the order of St. Vincent of Paul and the Sisters of Mercy in the 19th century.

The municipal authority of Pavlos Melas, like all other municipal authorities in Greece, is responsible for matters regarding Environmental Protection, Social Care, Education, and Sports, and it also exercises state responsibilities at local level, such as granting licenses for retail markets, operation of exhibitions, foundation and operation of flea markets, etc.

One of the key priorities set by the municipal authority of Pavlos Melas is the transition towards a more circular economy, not just for the sake of environmental sustainability, but also because it is considered to be an essential element of the roadmap for exiting the economic crisis. Within this perspective, the Municipality of Pavlos Melas has signed the Covenant of Mayors, a mainstream European movement involving local and regional authorities, voluntarily committing to increase energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on their territories. Moreover, Pavlos Melas participates in “Connecting Nature”, a project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Innovation Action Programme, with the aim of integrating nature-based solutions, into urban planning. Finally, Pavlos Melas also participates in “Tropa Verde”, an awarded transfer network of the URBACT Programme, empowering citizens to reuse and recycle.