English 
Greek Livable Cities
Beyond Athens and Thessaloniki, which face specific challenges as metropolises, medium and small-sized cities are dealing with an increasingly worsening situation, primarily due to the chaos in traffic and car parking.
Given that the available roads are limited, and urban pavement cannot be expanded, reducing the entry of private cars into the city centre is the only way to improve urban livability.
To achieve this, sustainable urban mobility must be ensured. Our proposal is based on strict policing to eliminate illegal parking and an appropriate parking policy (not cheap parking in the centre).
If we examine which categories of drivers enter the centre and where they park, we can identify three main groups:
Residents of the centre
For those who do not have parking spaces in their buildings, a municipality can allocate a large portion of legal parking spaces outside the commercial centre for free parking, as well as negotiate with off-street parking operators to provide a number of spaces at a low monthly fee.
Visitors to the centre
These are people who come to the city's commercial centre, use services, or stop for coffee or a meal. They bring money into the city, provided they can find parking easily. They typically stay for a few hours, so even if controlled or off-street parking costs €2 per hour, they will pay.
Employees working in the centre
Currently, these are the ones who arrive early in the morning and occupy all legal (or even illegal) parking spaces, hindering access for city visitors while increasing traffic congestion. Since illegal parking has been cracked down on, and legal parking costs as much as a proper parking policy dictate, they will seek an alternative transportation method (which employee would pay €2 per hour, or about €400 per month, to park?).
Alternative transportation methods for entering city centres, besides walking (if distance allows) or cycling (if bike lanes exist and the city's geography permits), include public transport. This could involve minibus routes connecting the centre with nearby areas and peripheral parking zones where people can leave their cars and continue by bus (Park and Ride).