The Fabric of the City Faced with Societal and Environmental Challenges: The Case of Porto
Today, cities are facing structural challenges that impose on them to revise their urban planning choices. Besides the adaptation to Climate Change consequences, the fabric of the city is also impacted by the digital revolution and the ongoing changes in habitat, working and mobility modes. This new context calls for a need of urban transformation but opens, at the same time, on real innovation opportunities for the fabric of a more sustainable and resilient city. We first examine the transformation challenges confronting the contemporary urban dynamics. We then analyze the case of Porto, the second Portuguese metropolis, with a focus on three crucial dimensions: housing, the environment, and urban mobilities. The study builds both on an important documentation related to the city’s plans and projects, and on nineteen semi-directive interviews with key actors of Porto urban planning. While it is difficult to state that this case has a paradigmatic value, it offers instructive examples of major projects which are illustrative of an evolution towards a more sustainable urban fabric. The case shows also how the new Municipal Master Plan of Porto approved in 2021 represents a real renewed urban planning approach.