The following research is about the urban regeneration of degraded areas of Europe and Greece. After a brief description of the way the European city was formed, the initial forms of its downgrading are discussed. Afterwards, there is a first approach of the meaning of urban regeneration, analyzing at the same time not only the types and the areas of these regenerations, but also the urban planning targets that these regenerations need to achieve. This is followed by the meaning of the degraded areas, the types of degradation and the reason that lead to their retrieval. The next approach is of the definition and the creation of the urban gaps, the brownfields, the clusters and the methodology of the urban regeneration and their consolidation.

Subsequently, there is the presentation of urban regeneration examples not only in Europe, but also in Greece. More specifically, in Europe we exam the urban regenerations in Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Lyon, London, Milan and Rotterdam and in Greece we have the examples in Athens and Thessaloniki.

   Through the approach and analysis of comparative examples from Europe and Greece, our pursuit was to find the reasons of the creation of degraded areas, understand the needs that lead to urban regeneration interventions, find the strategies that should be followed and, finally, find the factors that characterize an urban regeneration as successful.

   Besides the conclusions reached by this research, it is noted that there is a wide range of those who design, oversee and materialize the urban regenerations, after making investigation about the people involved in these regenerations and how much the residents of European cities participate. In our country, still there is a significant delay due to lack of resources and deficiency in the relevant legislation. It is also mentioned that the participatory processes should be strengthened, through information and awareness of the citizens, the implementation of informational campaigns about the possibilities, the procedures and the aspirations of urban regenerations.