Athens 2004 Olympic Games' Transportation Plan: a missed opportunity for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) integration?

Abstract

During the 1990s, a considerable debate on the integration of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) with the policy, plan and programming process took place among scholars throughout the world. This debate is relevant today, especially in the context of Sustainable Development (SD) as it is maintained that the integration of environmental concerns in policy, plan and programme (PPP) making, is a step towards sustainable planning practices. This is also the rationale behind the recent enactment of the European Union (EU) Directive on the `assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment' (or `SEA Directive') which requires that following the 21st July 2004, all member states' authorities preparing certain formal plans or programmes should undertake SEAs by preparing an environmental report describing the potential effects of plans and programmes upon the environment. This paper applies an integrative SEA/PPP framework, to the transport planning process of a major international athletic event: the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. It was found that despite the lack of a formal SEA in place, there are positive signs for its future integration in similar studies in Greece. Furthermore, it is recommended through comparison with other SEAs for Olympic Games, that weight should be given to the co-ordination of the common stages of the PPP and SEA processes, if SEA practice is to be encouraged in countries with underdeveloped SEA systems such as Greece.