Porto's new Master Plan wants to be reformative
In an interview, the Mayor of Porto explains that the document currently under discussion is "a plan for a city, to a large extent, consolidated and built", but that "it introduces new tools and operating concepts that respond, in an innovative, to an innovative city policy, based on five major strategic axes: environment, housing, mobility, heritage, and economy".
Rui Moreira points out that "the touchstone is the sustainability of these sectoral policies, understood this concept broadly: we speak of sustainability not only environmental but social, economic and territorial".
Housing is a "strategic" bet of the new document that aims to "reinforce the diversity of the housing supply, with a view to the demographic recovery of the city, as well as a more effective mix of uses". The mayor emphasizes that "there is a specific concern in this area, related to the accessibility of the middle class to housing".
The great novelty of the Master Plan in terms of the environment is an "approach to the issues of sustainability of the urban environment, with a view to the quality of life of citizens, and the resilience and adaptation of the territory to the challenges of climate change, namely in strengthening the structure municipal ecological system, with an increase in green areas for public use, and enhancement of the territory's wetlands".
With regard to mobility, the new Master Plan bets on three priorities: "the first is a new policy for parking that allows the progressive rescue of public space, too conditioned by the private car; the second concerns the reinforcement and complementarity of public transport modes, a fundamental option in a city like Porto; and finally, a policy to promote soft modes of mobility, with a special focus on the pedestrianization of specific areas".
With regard to the city's heritage and identity, "the intention is to reinforce heritage protection, respect for Porto's tradition and atmosphere and to systematize the fundamental values to be defended, with a view to preserving the identity and atmosphere that makes this city a unique city", explains the mayor.
Another of the strategic bets is on the city's economy, namely by "creating conditions for attracting businesses, employment and investment, thus reinforcing the centrality of the city at the metropolitan and national level and projecting it internationally as a reference among European cities in medium-size".
The new Porto Master Plan will be under debate at the Urban Rehabilitation Week in Porto, which takes place online from 24th to 26th November. On the 24th, the VI and the Porto City Council co-organize the session "A Master Plan for the future of Porto", which will focus on this topic from 3 pm.
