Scope & Objectives

Research carried out in the Spatial Planning and Environmental Assessment Unit focus on the interaction between spatial dynamics, urban environmental issues and impact assessment and decision systems.

• Currently, spatial dynamics topics comprise the study of urban form and metropolitan structures through space syntax and GIS applications, the understanding of shrinking cities and the effects of land use policies and infrastructure provision on real estate markets.
• The study of the nature of urban environmental issues. urban metabolism, bioclimatic urban design and urban mobility and accessibility patterns
• Finally, decision making and impact assessment research covers EIA, SEA, SIA and TIA as well as planning evaluation and decision support systems.

Research Team

• Integrated Researchers with PhD -  Paulo Pinho (coordinator), Alberto Barcón, Anabela Ribeiro, Anastássios Perdicoúlis, Cecília Silva, Fernando Brandão Alves, Filipa Malafaya, Joana Marques, Luísa Batista, Miguel Lopes, Miguel Serra, Sara Santos Cruz, Sílvia Sousa, Vítor Oliveira
• Integrated Researchers without PhD -  Alba Pinheiro, Ana Martins, Ana Proença, Catarina Cadima, Cláudia Monteiro, Inês Frade, Isabel Cunha, Joana Santos, João Corgo, Marcelo Altieri, Paula Gonçalves, Paulo Silvestre, Rita Vaz, Sofia Valente
• Collaborators Researchers -  Ana Monteiro, Ruben Fernandes

Main Contributions

Current Research Projects

• 1.40 - MIA - Metabolic Impact Assessment: From Concept to Practice
• 1.43 - 3S RECIPE – Smart Shrinkage Solutions – Fostering Resilient Cities in Inner Peripheries of Europe
• 1.45 - Unravelling the Spatial Morphology of European Metropolitan Regions
• 1.48 - Citizen Sensing – Urban Climate Resilience through Participatory Risk Management Systems
• 1.50 - SPLACH - Spatial Planning for Change
• 1.51 - BooST – Boosting Starter Cycling Cities
• 1.52 - MOBI-AGE - Promoting urban mobility in ageing populations
• 1.53 - Cost Action CA17125 Public Value Capture of Increasing Property Values
• 1.54 - Emerging Perspectives on Urban Morphology (EPUM)
• 1.66 - IPTC: Public transport and urban development: Improving public transport competitiveness versus the private car

Previous Research Projects

• 1.1 - Urban Regeneration in the Metropolitan Area of Oporto
• 1.2 - Urban Planning and Port Management: The Changing Nature of City-Port Interactions
• 1.5 - Urban Planning for Immigrant Integration
• 1.6 - Management Models, Institutional and Financial Solutions for Historic Cities. ATLANTE - Enhance the UNESCO'S World Heritage Atlantic Cities Project
• 1.7 - (IMP)³ - Improving the Implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment
• 1.8 - Spatial Structuring for Metropolitan Planning Purposes: The Case of the Metropolitan Area of Oporto
• 1.14 - ICON - The Impact of Closed Condominiums in the Urban Form
• 1.17 - MOPUS - Mobility Patterns and Urban Structures
• 1.19 - SUME - Sustainable Urban Metabolism for Europe
• 1.20 - SUPER-CITIES - Sustainable Land Use Policies for Resilient Cities
• 1.21 - EVIDENCE - Re-Inventing Analysis, Design and Decision Support Systems for Planning
• 1.22 - TIA for EC, National and Regional Policies
• 1.32 - COST Action TU0803 - Cities Regrowing Smaller (CIRES)
• 1.33 - COST Action TU1002 - Accessibility Instruments for Planning Practice in Europe
• 1.34 - COST Action TU1203 - Crime Prevention through Urban Design and Planning
• 1.35 - COST Action TU1204 – People Friendly Cities in a Data Rich World
• 1.36 - Paths of Population and Housing Development in Portugal: Divergences and Convergences in Space and Planning (Post-doc Project)
• 1.41 - COST Action TU 1104 - Smart Energy Regions
• 1.42 - COST Action C23 – Strategies for a Low Carbon Built Environments
• 1.46 - Generation.Mobi – Social Network of Interactive Devices For a New Generation of Urban Mobility
• 1.49 - Accessibility at the Neighbourhood Scale for Pedestrians
• 1.59 - URBY.SENSE - Urban mobility analysis and prediction for non-routine scenarios using digital footprints

Current PhD Projects

• 1.44 - Spatial Analysis on Collective Transport Equity: A study in the City of Recife Brazil
• 1.47 - Uncovering Trends and Determinants of the Commuting Patterns in academia, the Case of FEUP’ Students, 2006, 2012 & 2017
• 1.55 - From research in urban morphology to professional planning practice
• 1.56 - Business diversification on public transport
• 1.57 - Adaptive Planning for coastal climate adaptation in port-cities: integrating Adaptation Pathways into planning instruments
• 1.58 - Mobility and urbanity. The role of spatial planning in the promotion of a sustainable urban mobility
• 1.60 - Tourism activity in the process of urbanization of Mozambican cities
• 1.61 - Community Development in Urban Regeneration Projects: The Contribution of Participatory Processes

Previous PhD Projects

• 1.3 - Real Estate Market and Urban Change
• 1.4 - Utopic Fragments in the Chaotic City: Closed Condominiums in Greater Oporto
• 1.10 - Environmental Policies and Planning Systems
• 1.11 - Cultural Sustainability: Cultural Space Performance and Urban Spatial Organization
• 1.12 - Evaluation in Urban Planning
• 1.13 - Urban Mobility Policy: a Framework for the Integration of Land Use and Transport Policies for Sustainable Urban Travel
• 1.15 - The Urban Design as a Potential Tool for a Bioclimatic Architecture
• 1.16 - Planning for Shrinking Cities in Portugal
• 1.18 - Thermal Retrofitting of Public Spaces in Compact Urban Areas. A Bioclimatic Approach
• 1.23 - The Impact of Commercial Activity on the Form and Structure of the City: the Case of Portuguese Medium-sized Cities
• 1.24 - Social Impact Assessment (SIA) in Portugal
• 1.25 - The Nature of Spatial Planning Policies in Small Islands
• 1.26 - Resilient Territories: The Case of Ave Valley Region
• 1.27 - Anatomy of an Emerging Metropolitan Territory - Towards an Unified Analytical Framework for Metropolitan Morphology
• 1.28 - Public Housing: (In)extensive Renovation?
• 1.29 - Urban Design and Active Ageing, the Public Space of Residential Areas
• 1.30 - Accessibility Measures in the Portuguese Urban Planning System
• 1.31 - The Publicness of Urban Spaces
• 1.37 - The Requalification of Public Spaces in Social Housing in Porto: Design as a Social Instrument / A Requalificação dos Espaços Públicos nos Conjuntos de Habitação Económica no Porto: o Desenho como Instrumento Social
• 1.38 – Public Space and Active Ageing / O Espaço Público e o Envelhecimento Ativo
• 1.39 - Territory Risk Units as a Means to Understand Territory Risk Scenarios
• 1.62 - Arquitectura Termal em Portugal. Em busca do Balneário Ideal
• 1.63 - Segurança Urbana. A Arquitetura ao Serviço da Diversidade. Olhares Paralelos entre Portugal e o Brasil
• 1.64 - Proposta Metodológica para o Desenvolvimento do Projeto Integrado de Habitação Evolutiva em Portugal
• 1.65 - A influência das atividades económicas no traçado e na forma da cidade brasileira entre 1741 e 1912 - O caso das Cidades de Ouro Preto, Santos e Manaus