Case Studies  The Lisbon Castle parish and the urban regeneration process

6.4. Work in progress

The property in the Castle is mainly privately owned. At the beginning of the process, the municipal property was minimal, but increased during the works to a relation of 20% against 80% for the private sector. That means that around 18% of the accommodation is municipal against 82% private.

The buildings that became municipal were purchased by means of expropriation, a legal right established since 1948 (amended in 1975), in case of the owner's refusal to undertake regeneration or conservation work or by a decree that declares private property to be indispensable to serve a public purpose. At last another reason was, that the municipality has the option of purchase in the case private owners want to alienate their property what made up the majority of cases within the castle neighbourhood.

It was a clear option for the town authorities to buy property to re-house the population, as well as a way of guaranteeing a social miscegenation in the Castle area in future times. Those houses are always subject to a “Social Rent”.

The first schedule for the Castle project was set up for 4 years, to be finished in 1998.

In the monumental area, the works and the restoration went in tandem with those done in the residential area. The more important objects were achieved.

In the residential part, the works were divided in 4 phases that grew to 5 during the process. Each one of them had to deal with a group of buildings.

The deadline in this part of the parish has been considerably overstepped.

After almost eight years since the start of the Integrated Project, only half of the buildings have been refurbished, at costs far in excess of the estimated, and about one third of the population is being temporarily re-housed outside the quarter, with the social and economic consequences that such a situation brings. (Annexes 12/13)

Looking into the reasons of the delay of construction works, in the present study, it becomes clear that the physical conditions of the buildings were not properly analysed. Even considering the difficulty of their being occupied, the architectural and technical survey could have been carried out in order to discover reasons and origins of building's pathologies and faults. Technical means and manner are not lacking nowadays.

Even surveying only the 20% made up by vacant houses, it would have been possible to obtain an over view of the problem and, as a consequence estimate the costs and the schedule of the works in a more proper way.

Only after the conclusion of the first phase (the Rua do Espírito Santo), and facing the pre-existing pathologies joining the new ones, caused by the lack of appropriate projects, there started the difficult political process of approaching an assessment of the works' methodology.

Apart from the aforementioned problems, and the concept of using traditional construction techniques that are mostly justified by the pre-existing building pathology, and their historical characteristics, a work's budget was established that should not exceed the costs of new construction. These political conceptions were publicly shown but it was surly difficult to defend them.

Furthermore, the shortage of building contractors being acquainted with traditional construction manners was not considered. This was another reason for the inflated construction costs. In addition, one had to face the absence of qualified planners within the aforementioned field. These problems have their roots in the disappearance of traditional construction manners from the Portuguese building and construction industry almost 50 years ago.

These factors were only one part within the further problem to combine knowledge and rules of contemporary construction manners with the wisdom of the former centuries. Therefore the control and inspection of works was not an easy matter and at last it became neglected and imperfect.

In quality terms, the results are there to be seen and need no illustration. An additional outcome is a wearing out of the population and the frustration of good will, positive energies and idealism.

During the ongoing works, there was some reflection in order to complete the castle parish by further facilities. Since then, apart from a museum devoted to a complex of Arab silos, discovered during the regeneration works, it has been decided to link the re-established walk along the battlements to a site provided with retail trade and workshops putting some of these at local craftsmen's disposal.

On the same site is planned an interpretation centre and a playground, aimed at local and visiting children. A reopened portal near by within the city walls shall establish a direct access to this specially revitalised part of the castle neighbourhood.

Notwithstanding, all existing or future premises were planned in a relatively shortsighted way. They are not related, except by tourism, to the surrounding quarters (Alfama and Mouraria), and the City as a global organism. At last, the above-mentioned idea of a socio-cultural and commercial ring around the Castle has also been forgotten. (Annex 14)

Regarding the aim to turn the castle neighbourhood into a pedestrian precinct and the therefore obvious being lack of parking space, there are ideas to build a two-storey car park in a limited area with a capacity of only 30 cars.

Bearing in mind the real necessities of the current and, in particular, the future population, there has to be found another solution, taking into consideration a global approach within the different adjacent urban areas.

It is so fare not planned to enrich the Castle parish by strategic facilities and services important in putting the Castle area on the City route, as it remains a place where the Lisbon population does not need to go.

6.3 Economics, financing and beneficiaries    6.5 Partnerships, leadership and the participation of the people