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Urban environmental sustainability is a growing concern within the United Nations and the European Union's ongoing policy agendas to fight climate change. This paper contributes to this debate by presenting the main impacts of the Operational Programme for Sustainability and Use of Resources (POSEUR 2014–2020) in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (NUTS II). The analysis was completed using the Impact-WEB_GIS platform, specially developed for this study, supported by a territorial impact assessment methodology. In addition to the production of general impact scores, five analytic dimensions were further analysed, supported by state-of-the-art (i) low-emissions economy, (ii) adaptation to climate change, (iii) risk prevention and management, (iv) environmental protection and (v) resource efficiency. At a strategic level, the research created awareness of the need to adjust regional policy to the region's characteristics on environmental sustainability matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retaining their ancestral footprint, rural settlements anchored developments driven by suburbanisation and became small towns embedded in the generic metropolitan landscape in the late 20th century. In subsequent phases, they integrated the functional diversity necessary to maintain a certain autonomy, while always being rooted in a community whose bonds are densified. In the specific case of Queijas, in the municipality of Oeiras (Lisbon metropolitan area), apart from the recent identification of the historical nucleus and the maintenance of public spaces, one can infer from the Oeiras Municipal Master Plan (2022) the need for an integrated approach to urban design and planning, which is linked to the requalification of place and the community. That is how climate action, well-being and public space took priority as the leading factors in the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity is a driver for society to rethink water management and change the paradigm of use to a fit-for-purpose approach—i.e., separating potable water for human consumption (drinking, cooking or personal hygiene) from all non-potable uses that do not require the same quality level. In this context, urban water reuse is a relevant tool for municipalities and metropolitan areas when dealing with pressure on water resources, among several alternative water sources that can be considered in a site-specific and integrated manner. Through the available literature and specific case studies in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, this paper explores the benefits and barriers of water reuse and intends to support local authorities in including water reuse in their water management strategies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper focusing on Portugal and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area that globally examines governance, economic, legislative and social aspects regarding water reuse and presents specific implementation examples covering potable and non-potable as well as direct and indirect reuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarises an updated climate change trends analysis—developed for the period from 1 October 1864 to 30 September 2021 within the scope of a Horizon 2020-funded project to increase climate resilience in European coastal cities—for a representative site of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (Portugal). By using long ground-based daily records of rainfall and surface temperature at the Lisboa-Geofísico climatological station, the analysis aimed to identify (i) long-term and recent climate trends in rainfall and temperature, (ii) changes in extreme rainfalls, heatwaves, and droughts, and (iii) possible effects of the coupled changes of minimum and maximum daily temperatures (Tmin and Tmax, respectively) on drought development based on the diurnal temperature range (DTR) indicator. To detect these trends and quantify their magnitude, the Mann−Kendall and Sen's slope estimator tests were implemented. The analysis of the mean annual temperatures indicated that the study area has warmed ∼1.91 °C through the 157 analysed years. Results evidenced statistically significant upward trends in both Tmin and Tmax, and in the number of Tmax heatwave days. In what concerns the extreme hydrological events, the analysis of annual maximum rainfall series and peaks-over-threshold (POT) techniques showed more frequent and intense events in recent years, reaching up to ∼120.0 mm in a single day. With regard to drought, the study proved that the characterisation based on the commonly used standardised precipitation index (SPI) might differ from that based on the standardised precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), as the latter can take into account not only rainfall but also temperature, an important trigger for the development of drought. According to the SPEI index, severe and extreme drought conditions have been more frequent in the last 60 years than in any other recorded period. Finally, a decreasing DTR trend towards the present was found to influence evapotranspiration rates and thus drought characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The territory that currently corresponds to the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) has historically supplied fresh food to the urban population until half way through the 20th century. In 2018, the land use was still composed 38% of agricultural area, supplying 12% of the total food produced and consumed in Portugal. However, the operation of this food system is not subject to any regulations either in terms of spatial planning or land use management and, as such, its impact on sustainability transition in the region is not yet properly known. How to drive food transition in the LMA has thus arisen as a prominent question. In 2019, within a living lab context, the first steps were taken to this very challenging pathway, in which the definition of a food strategy was identified as the priority to sow the seeds of a food planning process. Over the last three years a food network started to operate on a collaborative basis to co-define a set of long-term objectives, a vision for 2030 and a collaborative biannual action plan. This article describes the process on how FoodLink—Network for the Food Transition in the LMA—leveraged the foundations to set up an evidence-based food strategy in the metropolitan area and how its thirty members became committed to cooperating in a science–policy–practice interface for its elaboration. According to principles of action–research and citizen science that implied a direct observation and involvement of the author along the entire process, the results intend to respond to the three objectives of the research by: (i) contributing to the literature on food networks; (ii) describing how the networking process occurred and its main achievements in what concerns a committed action plan; (iii) presenting the first baseline to pursue a food strategy towards the food planning of the city-region. It is understood that these results on how the food transition process is being driven in the LMA may either be inspiring for the construction of similar initiatives in other city regions, within and outside Europe, or may constitute the referential starting point for the future assessment of this ongoing transdisciplinary process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lisbon metropolitan area (LMA, central-west of Portugal) has been severely affected by different geohazards (flooding episodes, landslides, subsidence, and earthquakes) that have generated considerable damage to properties and infrastructures, in the order of millions of euros per year. This study is focused on the analysis of subsidence, as related to urban and industrial activity. Utilizing the A-DInSAR dataset and applying active deformation areas (ADA) processing at the regional scale has allowed us to perform a detailed analysis of subsidence phenomena in the LMA. The dataset consisted of 48 ascending and 61 descending SAR IW-SLC images acquired by the Sentinel-1 A satellite between January 2018 and April 2020. The line-of-sight (LOS), mean deformation velocity (VLOS) maps (mm year−1), and deformation time series (mm) were obtained via the Geohazard Exploitation Platform service of the European Space Agency. The maximum VLOS detected, with ascending and descending datasets, were −38.0 and −32.2 mm year−1, respectively. ADA processing over the LMA allowed for 592 ascending and 560 descending ADAs to be extracted and delimited. From the VLOS measured in both trajectories, a vertical velocity with a maximum value of −32.4 mm year−1 was estimated. The analyzed subsidence was associated to four ascending and three descending ADAs and characterized by maximum VLOS of −25.5 and −25.2 mm year−1. The maximum vertical velocity associated with urban subsidence was −32.4 mm year−1. This subsidence is mainly linked to the compaction of the alluvial and anthropic deposits in the areas where urban and industrial sectors are located. The results of this work have allowed to: (1) detect and assess, from a quantitative point of view, the subsidence phenomena in populated and industrial areas of LMA; (2) establish the relationships between the subsidence phenomena and geological and hydrological characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green infrastructure planning has been receiving great attention since the end of the last century. Although green infrastructure has been known for its ability to respond to a wide range of environmental, social, and economic challenges, the concept and associated implementation measures are still being discussed among researchers, decision-makers, and practitioners. To help these discussions, several authors have identified green infrastructure planning principles to help these professional with planning procedures. However the perception of practitioners regarding these principles was never taken into consideration. Because of this, the purpose of this research is to learn about the priorities of urban planners regarding green infrastructure planning principles and their integration into spatial planning. To achieve this, an Analytic Hierarchy Process methodology was applied to urban planners working in the 17 municipalities of Lisbon Metropolitan Area, in order to prioritize the green infrastructure planning principles influencing GI design and development in urban areas. Experts were asked to prioritize eight primary green infrastructure planning principles: connectivity, multi-functionality, applicability, integration, diversity, multiscale, governance, and continuity. The results show that the most important green infrastructure planning principle for practitioners is connectivity, followed by multifunctionality and applicability. Both integration and multiscale principles were considered more important in municipalities with predominantly urban features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the relation between the local fractal dimension and the development of the built-up area of the Northern Margin of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (NMAL), for the period between 1960 and 2004. To this end we make use of a Generalized Local Spatial Entropy (GLSE) function based on which urban areas can be classified into five different types. Our analysis of NMAL shows how some of the growth dynamics encountered can be linked to the plethora of social, economic and political changes that have taken place in NMAL (and Portugal), during the last 40 years, allowing for the establishment of urban planning measures to either inhibit or promote sprawl in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical activity is an important health determinant for people's quality of life and well-being. This study intends to (1) identify how the practice of physical activity fits into families' daily lives; and (2) verify to what extent the practice of physical activity is influenced by the urban model, family composition, and family perceptions. A survey was applied to 410 families (corresponding to 1006 individuals) in Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), Portugal, focusing on different physical activities—gym, swimming, walking/trekking/hiking, and cycling. Results are based on descriptive and bivariate data analysis and show the existence of asymmetries in the practice of physical activity in LMA. The urban context impacts the choice and frequency of physical activity practices. The typology of family and age proved to be more differentiating factors than income, being reinforced by daily lives (e.g., daily movements, transport modes, etc.). Positive self-perceptions of quality of life and health levels are also conducive to more active practices, contrary to negative perceptions of the neighborhood that are related to practices in peripheral destinations. Conclusions highlight the need for differentiated measures of physical activity promotion according to the territories and communities' characteristics in a multilevel approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a study on the transition of the agro-food system in Portugal through the analysis of case studies in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The theoretical framework draws on the literature on the transition of sociotechnical systems, taking into account the multidimensional nature of the food system (ecological, environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural). Social and institutional innovation, technological innovation, public policy impact, and the interactions with the dominant regime are the main dimensions guiding the study of the organic farming initiatives. We identified the supportive policy measures, the role of producers' networks, the relevance of values, and the obstacles and challenges these initiatives face in their growth process. While the results are in line with the theoretical debate, they also provide new insights on the selection environment, the networks' dual nature and the existence of different development paths within the organic food niche. One of the main conclusions is that organic farmers perceive the regulatory framework as unfair relative to that of conventional agriculture. Therefore, it is crucial to change this framework to speed up the transition of the agro-food system in Portugal and at the European level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban mobility plays an important role in addressing urban livability. The complexification and dispersion of travel due to the improvement of transport and the multiplication of our daily living places underline the relevance of multilevel territorial planning, recognizing that the knowledge of local differences is essential for more effective urban policies. This paper aims (1) to comprehend conceptually how urban mobility contributes to the urban livability from the local to metropolitan level and (2) to assess the previous relation toward a livable metropolis based on the readily available statistics for the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Hence, a triangulation between conceptual, political/operative, and quantitative/monitoring approaches is required. The methodology follows four steps: (1) literature review focusing on the quantification of urban mobility within the urban livability approach; (2) data collection from the Portuguese statistics system; (3) data analysis and results, using principal component analysis (PCA) followed by cluster analysis (CA); (4) discussion and conclusions. In Portugal, although it is implicit, consistency is evident between the premises of recent urban mobility policies and respective planning instruments, such as the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP), and the premises of urban livability as an urban movement. Focusing on the national statistics system, the available indicators that meet our quality criteria are scarce and represent a reduced number of domains. Even so, they allow identifying intra-metropolitan differences in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) that could support multilevel planning instruments. The results identified five principal components related to commuting at the local and intermunicipal level, including car use as well as social and environmental externalities, and they reorganized the 18 LMA municipalities into eight groups, clearly isolating Lisbon, the capital, from the others. The identification of sensitive territories and respective problems based on urban livability principles is fundamental for an effective urban planning from livable communities to livable metropolis.

Water is becoming a support for landscape and urban projects in a densely urbanised area settled along the Tagus Estuary, dubbed the City of the Tagus Estuary (CTE). Analysing two recent projects along and towards the Tagus Estuary hydrographic network, this article highlights how the most evident limit (the water) can function as the strongest binder, natural link, and shared public space of the CTE. Located, respectively, on the north and south banks of the estuary, the analysed projects become a way to think about urban strategies and promotions that use water as a way to build (re-build or reformulate) the image of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Today, open spaces bound to waterlines support an appealing and winning urban regeneration formula. Our goal is to understand what kind of role water is called to play with regard to the CTE. We ask: is the water called to play merely the role of building a new image of the city as a ground for investors? Is water the way to build a green and habitable CTE? This article concludes that the analysed projects contribute (as expected) to the promotion of the surrounding areas and propose appropriate solutions while occasionally overcoming the current local urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has become the basis of several worldwide policies over the last few decades, and its role will continue to shape policies for decades to come, especially those that are focused on urban mobility. At the same time, urban mobility is included in the framework of the Healthy Cities movement. In this context, using the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), Portugal, as the study area, this article intends to answer the following research question: are sustainable urban mobility policies contributing to healthy cities? Urban mobility planning and public health instruments were compared with the discourses and practices of those responsible for the implementation of urban mobility policies and Healthy Cities projects. The results reveal that a large number of responses proposed in the mobility planning instruments are, to some extent, related to the principles of healthy cities. Also, while municipal agents tend not to consider the inclusion of those principles, they instead incorporate the concepts of sustainable development. Nevertheless, we found that both approaches overlap the policy directions of healthy cities. On the other hand, public health policies and Healthy Cities projects presented a scarce number of references to its interventions in the urban mobility domain and mainly focused on the promotion of soft modes. It is concluded that, in the case of the observed municipalities of the LMA, the healthy cities framework is greatly benefited by the inclusion of sustainable development principles in all policies, especially those for urban mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]