Urban Planning in Portugal

Abstract

This article approaches the contemporary context of urban planning processes in Portugal. Firstly it develops a framework on the evolution of urban policy in Portugal since its inception, in the thirties from the twentieth century, until the present day. Further on, it performs a critical reflection on the state of urban planning processes in Portugal. Special attention is given to the problems related to the plans implementation and to the lack of suitability / compatibility between the different scales of urban planning. In this sense, we raise the question of whether it is the time to readjust he urban process in Portugal? It seems necessary indeed to rethink the planning process, namely on the territorial and regional level, as well as to adjust the urbanism teaching practices. As a result of this critical reflection, some measures to reform the process of urban planning, in order to meet the challenges that they face today, are pointed out. We emphasize the need for (1) simplify the urbanistic process, (2) responsabilize the actors involved, (3) define an efficient and fair land policy, (4) adapt the training of urban planners, (5) foster citizen involvement, (6) constitute transdisciplinary teams.