82 research outputs found

    Fires in Portugal: an opportunity to trigger inland development

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    The recent big fires that devastated the Portuguese territory during 2017 have raised a crucial issue for territory planning and land management: the growing inland desertification, and the urgent need to revitalize the interior. This article points out the reasons underlying forest fires, and proposes a set of measures to potentiate its effective resolution, through launching economic development and social cohesion in the rural inland country. Most of these fires didnŽt turn up from natural causes. Several political, economic, administrative and management reasons explain the seriousness of its consequences. Within the scope of the Portuguese territorial planning, these reasons include shortcomings in land registry; inefficiencies and disorganisation in decision centres; inland abandonment; biased inspection of state organisms; lack of risk prevention; conflicts of interest in fire "businesses"; and lack of public spirit. Herein is proposed the resolution (or, at least, the mitigation), of the consequences of fires through the registry of the whole land, integrating those without owner into a bank land; decentralization of powers; higher inland investments; incentives to family farming and agricultural cooperatives; higher impartiality in state inspection; better ordinance of forest and fire prevention; control of interests in fire- related businesses; use of technologies and military means to prevent and fight fire; launch of a recovery fund; dissemination of information concerning risks; and aggravation of penalties for arson. It is urgent to take advantage of this unique opportunity to rethink the long-lasting problem of fires in a more global and integrated perspective able to trigger the country on the path of the future

    Urban societal risks: integration of social disadvantaged residents

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    The strong real-estate pressure in city centres gradually triggers sharp price rises and,consequently, engenders social risks for less-favoured disadvantaged residents. These result, on the onehand, from the strong deterioration of buildings and dwellings where they live and, on the other, from theireconomic and social vulnerabilities that question their permanence in the places where they have alwayslived (where they feel socially and culturally included).In these communication are reported the goals, methodologies, results and conclusions of a technical,socioeconomic and financial study undertaken for the Porto municipality (Portugal). It tackles the socialrisks faced by Porto "islandsŽ" inhabitants. The "islands" consist in ranks of little houses built from thebeginning of the 19th century on, aimed at lodging the working class that increasingly looked for urbanareas in this city. Despite the analysis was pursued for all the "islands" in Porto city (Portugal), the casestudy herein presented centres in S. Víctor "islands", located in the Urban Rehabilitation Area of Bonfim,just by the side of the historical centre classified as worldwide heritage by UNESCO.The study begins by the analysis of the risks involved in these "islands", concerning, namely, buildingsŽ anddwellingsŽ physical deterioration, accessibility shortcomings, isolation and safety shortage. Thischaracterization resulted from local visits, population surveys and interviews. Then a rehabilitationintervention by public authorities is proposed, which consists in the rehabilitation of the current dwellings,doubling their liveable areas, and remodelling them so to increase their residentsŽ comfort levels. Finallythis rehabilitation proposal is supported on cost and profit assessment that justify its feasibility, resorting toavailable financial instruments. This proves its economic and financial sustainability, and stresses itscontribution to social risk reduction (namely social exclusion and economic, social and cultural collapse ofits inhabitants)

    How to achieve the land social function from tourism land uses: a case study in the Algarve (Portugal)

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    This paper presents the goals, methodology, expected results and conclusions of anew territorial management instrument - developed in the scope of the new Land, TerritorialOrdinance and Urbanism Act and complementary legislation currently passed in Portugal -aimed at capturing part of the unearned increments (surplus values) that accrue fromplanning decisions concerning land uses, land use changes and/or land use intensities. Itconsists in charging landowners/promoters a 20% fee on land surplus-values that result fromthe assignment of specific building capacities - objectively settled in territorial plans - tourban interventions especially targeted to tourism uses.This captured value should reinforce municipalitiesŽ financial sustainability, and is supposedto be reassigned to social purposes, such as social housing or urban rehabilitation, thussupporting the achievement of the land social function.The proposed methodology is applied to the Urban Development Plan of the Planning Unit 11of the municipality of Lagoa, located in the Algarve, Portugal. However, it is easilyapplicable to other municipalities, whichever is their geographic location, and to manydifferent kinds of territorial plans

    Development and implementation of a New Land Value Capture Instrument

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    Historically the literature (Dick, 1998; Ingram and Hong, 2007; Smolka and Amborski, 2007;Rebelo, 2009, 2012) has asserted the idea of land social function, which means that the increasein land value that results from public decisions should be reassigned to the social welfare. But theterritorial management instruments that render this concept operational (surplus value captureinstruments) are still underdeveloped around the world (Hagman and Misczynski, 1978;McCluskey and Franzsen, 2005; Smolka and Amborski, 2007; Alexander et al., 2009; Alterman,2010, 2011;).The current article mainly focuses on the analysis and proposal of a new territorial managementinstrument aimed at capturing land surplus values that result from planning decisions and fromthe implementation of territorial plans. It is specifically based on the taxation of licensed builtsurfaces above the municipal abstract average built surface. It is duly explained, justified from aneconomic and financial perspective, and applied to the Detailed Plan of Avenida Papa JoãoXXIII, in Fátima (in the Municipality of Ourém, Portugal). In this study average municipalbuilding capacities are computed, as well as the concrete building capacities/m2that accrue fromurban interventions in the planning area for the different plots, anticipated kinds of uses, andapplicable urban parameters. The homologous surplus values assigned by the Detailed Plan arefurther anticipated, as well as the potential values this new instrument would be able to collect.The research reported in this article is intended to contribute to the economic and financialsustainability of territorial planning and urban development, socially reassigning the surplusvalues engendered by public decisions, and strengthening municipal finance through theclarification of urban development-related fundsŽ origins and applications, and the developmentof understandable, quantifiable and user-friendly decision-support instruments.It is a highly topical subject that fits into the objectives and priorities of Horizon 2020(contribution of public policies to a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth), and of the newPortuguese Land, Territorial Ordinance and Urbanism Act and complementary legislation thatregulates territorial planning, urban development and construction (currently under way).From this research one can conclude that this new territorial management instrument issustainable from an economic and financial standpoint. Its application is generalizable to othermunicipalities, and it potentially exerts important impacts in respective financial strengthening. Itwill further support the consolidation of the objectives of the new Portuguese Land, TerritorialOrdinance and Urbanism Act, namely through the integration of territorial policies, a greatereffectiveness in plan execution, a reinforced economic and financial sustainability of urbandevelopment processes, and the simplification of urban operations, promoting equity and socialand territorial cohesion

    Non-negotiable developer obligations for highly profitable uses: a case study in Portugal

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    Land value capture policies - that aim at recovering the unearned increments accrued by urban plans or public investments - have been increasingly used by planners and local decision makers - due to shrinking incomes from traditional fiscal sources, on the one hand, and to the need to catch other instruments to fund local infrastructures, on the other. This betterment recovery may be processed either through fiscal instruments (taxes, contributions, or exactions), or through local improvements on the general behalf of communities (namely through infrastructure provision)

    New Insights into Office Location and Rents

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    This communication presents a research on the reasons that shape offices locationsand respective rent levels, within the scope of increasing globalization. It tests thehypothesis that the factors that shape the spatial structures and rents of the officemarkets are much strongly determined by urban planning and municipal investmentsthan by variables more market-related, recognized in vast literature (Glascock et al.,1990; Bellini, 2000; Archer and Smith, 2003; Rabianski and Gibler, 2007; Ozuz,2009). Thus an innovative methodology and model are proposed aimed at supportingthe definition of urban strategies and policies concerning officesŽ location andrelocation, and corresponding influence on rent levels. They resort to a set ofplanning tools able to express the local characteristics of office markets. They areapplied, as a case study, to the Porto s office market (Portugal). Implications forurban policies are inferred from this analysis. Some courses of planning interventionare further proposed that may consist, namely, in the regulation of property markets,in the indirect control on rent levels, and in a more local-based assessment of thosemarkets.This research is relevant for planning and public policies because it stresses theimportance of urban planning interventions in office markets; it develops a urbanmanagement upgradeable information system; it overcomes some restrictions ofprevious location models; it settles a hedonic integrated and interactive nondeterministicmodel that fits the values that variables underlying rents may assumeany time; it develops cartographic display and simulation functionalities (resorting tothe use of geographic information systems); and it finally includes agentsŽbehaviours in the hedonic model of officesŽ rents.The assessment of the proposed model complements and enriches the operationalapplication of hedonic models previously proposed in literature, and includesflexibility devices to support urban planning decisions on office markets. Besides,the results of this methodology and model will probably engender a reassessment anddiscussion on the role of public intervention versus market factors on urban officerentsŽ levels and trends

    Land betterment capture revisited: A methodology for territorial plans

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    The main goal of this article consists in the proposal of a developer obligations' instrument aimed at capturing land betterments that result from planning decisions and from the implementation of territorial plans, reassigning them to public infrastructure, equipment and social purposes. It consists in charging for extra development rights beyond average municipal urban built-up areas. It is founded on a research and consultancy work for the Portuguese Territory Department (a governmental organism) within the scope of the revision of the Land Planning Act and complementary legislation, namely the new Juridical Regime of Urbanization and Edification, and the new Juridical Regime of Territorial Management Instruments. Thus herein are presented the assumptions, methodology, outcomes and conclusions of this work. It is applied - as a case study - to the Detail Plan of Avenue Pope John XXIII, in Fatima (in the Municipality of Ourem, Portugal), but its application is generalizable to other municipalities, and it potentially strengthens their financial status. Considering the current widespread crisis, and taking advantage from the experience of homologous value capture instruments in other countries, the proposed instrument is intended to contribute to strengthen municipal finance. It faces more clearly and objectively the funding of territorial planning and urban development. It further aims at developing understandable, quantifiable and user-friendly decision-support instruments, and at reassigning the betterments engendered by public planning decisions on behalf of communities. This concept and methodology supports the consolidation of the objectives of the new Portuguese Land and Planning Act. It indeed fosters the integration of territorial policies, strengthens effectiveness in plan execution, supports the economic and financial sustainability of urban development operations, and promotes equity as well as social and territorial cohesion

    Urban sustainable mobility and citizens quality of life

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    The research reported in this communication intends to show that sustainable cities are entitled toprovide higher life quality levels to their populations. In a world more and more impacted by theconsequences of anthropogenic activities (namely climate change and pollution), it is outstandingthat public organizations are endowed with funds and vested with the appropriate means to assesstheir consequences on citizensŽ life quality, so that they can trigger improvements in environmental conditions in sustainable ways.The current research - developed in the Territorial Planning and Environmental division of theFaculty of Engineering of Porto University (Portugal) - characterizes the concept of "sustainableurban mobility", as found on the relations among sustainability, urban life quality and publictransports.A deep revision is carried out not only in terms of bibliographical framework but also through asurvey on Portuguese and European UnionŽs documents that emphasize the main goals and strategic orientations to achieve urban sustainability in what particularly involve mobility issues.This research seeks to develop a set of instruments specially designed to monitor the evolution ofthe sustainable urban development. These instruments are grouped on three main domains: environment, economic, and social. A computational user-friendly methodology is presented to compute this set of indicators, based on feasible and comparable data that leads to objective and clearresults. This methodology is applied, as a case study, to the Porto city (Portugal) that has recentlyattained high levels of sustainable development. Public planning policies and private initiativesare analysed, and related to the proposed set of indicators, in order to consolidate an overall methodology for the assessment of sustainable urban development, generally applicable to other urbanrealities.A discussion is pursued on the topicality and urgency of these kind of methodologies and instruments in urban policy definition and implementation, as its application will enable the assessmentof urban mobility, as well as the definition of concrete policies aimed at urban sustainability, thuspromoting citizensŽ quality of life

    Revision of Municipal Development Charges in Portugal: contributions to a new urban paradigm

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    This communication fits into the overall structural reform of the legislation that frames the territorialplanning and urban development currently taking place in Portugal. This reform aims at strengthening anew urban paradigm, providing the legal support to policy development and implementation in moreequitable, flexible, transparent and sustainable ways.Within this scope, this communication presents a proposal to reformulate the Portuguese MunicipalDevelopment Charges. This revision is crucial within the current socio-economic crisis that stronglyshapes municipal finances, and expresses the concern to provide municipalities with sustainable tools inorder to fight for the rights of their citizens. It is applied, as a case study, to the municipality of Bragança.This reassessment of municipal development charges fits the goals of the structural legal reformunderway, and is deeply important for territorial development processes and for populationsŽ well-beingas it warrants: (a) a greater resilience in the use of urban land, (b) the economic and financialsustainability of urban operations through a proper funding of development infrastructures; (c) highertransparency in the use of public funds; and (d) an increased fairness in the distribution of developmentcosts and benefits among the population
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