In this paper we examine the recent developments in the Greek system of urban centers, in an effort to assess the validity of the view that deconcentration trends have been in operation during the last decade. The estimation of rank-size distribution functions for all the post-war census years shows that concentration trends were prevailing until 1981, although in the last decade stabilization or even deconcentration trends have appeared, with the faster development of the smaller cities. This observation would be very promising for the prospects of balanced development of the Greek economic space, to the extent that the faster growing small cities are randomly distributed. Subsequent analysis however has shown that these fast growing smaller cities have been largely cities-satellites of the metropolitan centers of Athens and Thessaloniki. Regression analysis has also shown that past growth record, the quality of human capital, the geographical position and the rank of a city in the urban hierarchy are all factors contributing to positive and significant rates of urban growth. Despite expectations, the sectoral structure of employment in the cities and their position on the alleged Athens-Thessaloniki "axis" of development have not produced any statistically significant results. On the contrary, the analysis has indicated a positive and significant impact of the location of cities in the vicinity of the metropolitan centers of Athens and Thessaloniki.
