The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) experts’ contribution in the establishment of the University of Patras

Abstract

The Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) was founded in 1948 with the aim of connecting European countries to the United States through the economic project of the Marshall Plan. Since 1958, the OECD has worked with Greek governments to modernize and develop the country. Part of the investigations undertaken by the OECD in order to achieve successful globalization in cooperation with European governments has provided expertise to the member countries which has affected the development trends of the nations and states. Even though the decisions and suggestions of these two organizations seem to have had an impact on urban planning, there is little research in the international literature that has examined their participation in the evolution of spatial data in the post-WWII period. In this paper, my aim is to examine the dynamics between the different actors involved in the process of creating the University of Patras and to question the role of international experts in that process. Τhe research is based on material in the OECD in Paris, the Historical Archives of University of Patras and Constantinos A. Doxiadis Archives, Athens.