General factors and dynamic change

Lisbon is a city with a service sector – based economy, spatially characterised by its historic inner city neighbourhoods and large-scale housing estate in the outer areas. In the 20th century there has been a continuous growth in terms of areas and population, especially between 1970-1980 when large migrations to the capital took place in the times of de-colonisation. At the same time, the density of the inner city neighbourhoods increased drastically.

The city reacted to this immigration, either from the ex-colonies or from the country-side, by encouraging new suburban areas to emerge as well as the metropolitan area to spread. As a consequence, from 1980s the inner city neighbourhoods suffered a continuous decrease of population and at the same time an increase in percentage of older and financially weak people, unable to leave these neighbourhoods. In addition these neighbourhoods were characterized by a less attractive housing stock.

This fact is reflected in national rent policies. Rents were frozen, therefore making it impossible to undertake any kind of building conservation in the inner city neighbourhoods.

Policy responses

National policy started to react in 1976. New Portuguese legislation was launched permitting the definition of 'Critical Areas of Recovery and Urban Conversion'. From 1985 Local Technical Offices emerged in the four historical neighbourhoods of Lisbon along with an office dedicated to the peripheral cores. Urban regeneration was considered a priority, having in mind at the same time the promotion of the city as a tourist attraction and guaranteeing for the native population the preservation of their natural habitat in order to fight social exclusion.

In 1994, the Lisbon Town Authorities created the 'Department of the Integrated Pro-jects' and in 1995 the Lisbon Municipal Agency of State-owned Dwelling Resources and Public Facilities (EBAHL now EGEAC) is founded, in charge of management within the city and within the Integrated Projects. Those kind of organisational measures go along with new national financial programmes.

The study neighbourhood: Castelo de São Jorge

Castelo de São Jorge is situated very close to the today’s centre of Lisbon. The neighbourhood is in a hilly part of the city as well as being enclosed by the first ring of city walls.

Besides the monuments (former castle buildings which are Portugal’s most visited tourist attraction), the neighbourhood is mainly a residential area, characterised by low storey houses, built up after the earthquake in 1755 and mainly in private ownership.

Key problems/challenges

The local poor population possesses neither the means nor the ability to benefit in a flexible way from the general economic development or to get some profit from the challenge emerging at close range – called tourism.

Progress

In 1995, the City Hall set up a local team, the Castle Work Group as well as the 'Integrated Castle Project'. The local multi-disciplinary team was in charge of neighbourhood management, including planning, carrying out and monitoring of all necessary interventions, while the Municipality takes administrative possession of all buildings during the regeneration. Several public partnerships were set up, especially regarding infrastructures. Unfortunately the time frame for the Integrated Castle project was completely overrun and the process continues up to today, even when its conclusion was foreseen within 4 years.

Besides the complete restoration of the monumental castle buildings and respective equipment addressed to tourism, the main goals in the residential part of the parish were to provide basic but adequate housing and living conditions, avoiding profound changes within housing types, refurbishment of public space and underground infrastructures, revitalisation of local commerce, all having in mind the protection of architectural and cultural heritage.

This kind of integrated action has been undertaken through the support and collaboration of different national financing programmes as well as private sector sponsoring. In very recent times the new Lisbon Municipal Council decided to restructure the city council’s departments. The 'Castelo Project Unit' was created and its aim is to complete the ongoing project.

Future plans

The new Lisbon Town Authorities have imposed a strategic change to realise the rest of the project in order to make housing and the urban fabric more appropriate for the future. In other words the general modernisation of housing types is a new goal.