I was born in Argostoli, Cephalonia. I studied at the Aidonopoulou School, at the National Technical University of Athens (Diploma in Architectural Engineering), at Columbia University (MS in Urban Planning), and at University College London (PhD in Development Planning). To my architectural education and my origins, I owe the fact that I have never abandoned matters of art, aesthetics, and culture.

From an early stage, the core of my scientific interests centred on research into issues of development and spatial planning, as well as on the systematic investigation of strategies and practices for their integration with education. Before my appointment at the National Technical University of Athens, I worked as a Specialist Scientist at the Secretariat of the National Council for Physical Planning and the Environment, where I was engaged in strategic development planning. During this period, I became aware of the significance of institutions and of the necessity of developing a framework for strategic, interdisciplinary synthesis in order to understand and address even apparently simple issues. With this vision, and as Presiding Member and Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee for Postgraduate Studies at NTUA, I contributed for many years to the strategic planning for the establishment, development, and organisation of postgraduate studies at the University. I actively supported the correlation between postgraduate studies and research as fundamental pillars of public university development, drawing on experience gained as representative of the Conference of Rectors of Greek Universities to the European Research Policy Committee, as well as through my participation as a representative of Greece in committees of the OECD, the European Science Foundation (serving as a member of the core group for social sciences), and other international organisations. As Director of the National Centre for Social Research and President of its Administrative Board, I worked to promote the articulation of social research with spatial dimensions and the alignment of research policy with development strategies.

In order to develop interpretations, representations, approaches, and policies responsive to Greek realities, the Laboratory of Planning Methodology and Space Regulation was established in 1993. I created interdisciplinary teams, primarily involving young researchers, and coordinated projects of mainly basic, but also applied research, with a consistent research orientation: the investigation of spatial-social evolutionary processes and the formulation of policies and practices for spatial planning. During the years of the Laboratory’s operation, innovative approaches and interpretive and planning tools were developed in response to the complexity and diversity of reality, as well as to the disruptions and new tensions observed in the socio-economic and cultural environment. The aim, through processes of collective action, was to contribute to overcoming the façade of homogeneity and uniformity imposed by conventional regulatory perspectives and to strengthen institutions of self-governance at different levels of spatial constitution. Spatial-functional structure, networks as tools for spatial representation and planning, and the contribution of communication to development formed key components of this approach and areas for research deepening.

Methods to strengthen communication emerged as a central focus of this work. Communication can be catalytic for developing democratic institutions that safeguard the visions, expectations, and practices of citizens, a role that becomes particularly significant during periods of crisis. Research activity supported the creation of “living” spaces of public consultation, directly linked to outward-looking community engagement, and revealed the untapped human potential of both urban and peripheral contexts. This work was further extended through experimental processes in schools throughout Athens and rural areas, demonstrating the feasibility and value of frameworks that enhance children’s participation in the development process and contribute to their understanding of space and citizenship.