Evaluating the Impacts of Urban Regeneration Companies in Portugal: The Case of Porto

Abstract

Cities have undergone many changes since the 1950s, not least the expansion of urban areas to the detriment of the historic central areas, some of which have been left to decay. In Portugal the most visible results of this phenomenon are found in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto. To address this problem, the Portuguese Government conceived the first legal instrument for urban regeneration in 2004 which allows the local administrations to form publicly owned companies-urban regeneration companies (SRUs) to actively endorse urban regeneration in historic city centres. This paper discusses the activities of the Porto Vivo SRU, one of these companies created in Porto, in the context of the Portuguese milieu of urban regeneration and evaluates Porto Vivo's operation.

Promoting urban regeneration and aging in place: APRAM – An interdisciplinary method to support decision-making in building renovation

“…In Portugal, approximately 1,300,000 residential buildings, which account for 40% of the existing housing stock, were built prior to 1970, and hence the building aging index is significant. The government has therefore promoted national renovation policies to adapt residential buildings to the normative requirements and contemporary social needs (National Institute of Statistics from Portugal (INE-PT), 2011; Neto et al, 2014). This research applies and tests the APRAM in the "Bairro das Estacas", a residential neighbourhood that has been selected as a reference case study of application (Ballarini, Corgnati, & Corrado, 2014).…”

Progress in Research on Sustainable Urban Renewal Since 2000: Library and Visual Analyses

“…Its influence on the social and ethnic composition of territories is equivocal [41]. Policies of urban renewal increasingly involve habitat destruction followed by reconstruction [42]. This translates into relocation to another part of the city.…”

“…This translates into relocation to another part of the city. According to the research by L. Neto, N. Pinto, and M. Burns [42,43], about 1,300,000 residential buildings (which represent 40% of the existing housing stock) in Portugal were built before 1970, and the building ageing index is therefore essential. Renovation policies were implemented to adapt residential buildings to normative requirements [44] and current social needs [45].…”

Urban Transformation: Analyzing the Combined Forces of Vacant Building Occupancy and Socio-Economic Dynamics

“…Building requalification, therefore, is a crucial component within this broader approach. The practice involves the modification, renovation, and modernization of existing structures to optimize their functionality, energy efficiency, and overall liveability [10][11][12][13]. This process encompasses various strategies that aim to upgrade building systems, rejuvenate and repurpose buildings to meet contemporary needs, improve indoor comfort, and revitalize spaces' aesthetic appeal while preserving their architectural integrity.…”