Scope & Objectives

The research unit “Urban Planning and Housing” has been focusing on the study of urban policies and new forms of governance, as well as on the development of policy and plan evaluation methodologies.

These two general objectives have been achieved through various types of projects, with themes covering several concerns: the issue of urban and territorial policy coordination at “micro” (intra-urban) and “meso” (metropolitan and regional) scales; the experiences of partnerships in national urban regeneration policies, the urban deprivation issue and urban regeneration policies; the importance of urban policy evaluation with the purposes of innovation and collective learning; the relevance of the “just city” and of social criteria in policies and plans.

Research Team

• Integrated Members with PhD - Isabel Breda-Vázquez (coordinator), Emília Malcata-Rebelo, Fernanda Sousa, Miguel Graça, Paulo Conceição
• Integrated Members without PhD (PhD Students and young researchers) - Amanda Felix, Ana Sousa, Aymen Boudebouz, Cláudia Affonso, Daniel Tavares, Diana Silva, Filipe Cruz, Joana Santos, João Corgo, Isabel Coimbra, Paula Ramos, Tatiane Serrano
• Collaborators Researchers –  Carlos Oliveira, Miguel Branco-Teixeira

Financial Support

• European Union Foundation for Science and Technology
• Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia
• Faculty of Engineering of the University of Oporto / Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
• AICCOPN
• Domus Social

Laboratory Facilities

• Planning Laboratory - GIS Unit

Main Contributions

Current Research Projects

• 1.50 - SPLACH - Spatial Planning for Change
• 2.7 - Urban and Housing Policies in Portugal
• 2.23 - Metropolitan and Inter-Municipal Governance and Territorial Policies: Towards Increased Institutional Innovation?
• 2.24 - Diversity and Specificity: The Spatial Contexts of Creativity of Porto Metropolitan Region, Portugal
• 2.26 - Sub-Standard Housing in Oporto: The Case of “ilhas”
• 2.29 - Assessment of Rehousing Needs in the Municipality of Porto
• 2.30 - RE-CITY ITN
• 2.31 - AtlaS-WH - Heritage in the Atlantic Area: Sustainability of the Urban World Heritage Sites
• 2.32 - Social Green
• 2.33 - Urban Rehabilitation Market Study

Previous Research Projects

• 2.1 - The Construction of Urban Regeneration Policies: Analysis, Evaluations and Recommendations in Selected Urban Areas
• 2.2 - Evaluating the Compatibility of Local Land-Use Planning: An Analysis in the Metropolitan Area of Porto
• 2.3 - The Impacts of Urban Public Transport in the Urban Development of Metropolitan Area Porto
• 2.4 - PRECO (Permanent Regional Cooperation) - Development of a Global Data System on Land Use and Transport Integration
• 2.6 - Strategic Study for Urban Renewal Interventions in Central Porto
• 2.8 - Urban Policies, Integrated Projects and New Modes of Governance
• 2.9 - Urbact - Partners4action
• 2.10 - International Universities as Developers
• 2.13 - PPP & Urban Regeneration
• 2.14 - Urban Policy Evaluation in the Porto Metropolitan Area: The New Information Requirements
• 2.15 - Urban Policies Evaluation and Collective Learning: a Methodology
• 2.16 - Patterns of Urban Disadvantage and Urban Regeneration Policies
• 2.17 - Social Justice as a Guide to Planning Practice: Criteria for Plan Evaluation
• 2.18 - Urban Policies, Creativity and Cohesion: The Case of Porto City-Region
• 2.21 - Governance Models in Urban Regeneration
• 2.22 - Spatial Patterns of Urban Disadvantage
• 2.25 - Urban Rehabilitation Market in Portugal: A Prospective Study and a Good Practice Guide

Current PhD Projects

• 2.27 - Locally Constructed Knowledge in Spatial Policies: The Role of Spatial Data Processing Tools
• 2.28 - Mobility Circuits in Urban Policies Mobilization and Mutation
• 2.34 - Institutions and Indicators in "Monitoring and Evaluation" in Territorial Planning
• 2.35 - New Spatial Dynamics and Urban Regeneration: Innovation and Change in Central Zones
• 2.36 - Urban transformations in the city of Rio de Janeiro after mega-events
• 2.37 - Urban development policies and instruments in a context of increasing financialization: The case of Urban Partnership Operations in Brazil

Previous PhD Projects

• 2.5 - Models of Production and Management of Social Housing
• 2.11 - Integrating ICT's and Planning: The Role of the Planner's Culture
• 2.12 - Territorial Policies and Institutional Innovation: The Case of Inter-Municipal Cooperation
• 2.19 - Urban Rehabilitation in Historical Centres: Models of Intervention and Management in Critical Areas
• 2.20 - The Involvement of Children and Young People in a Participative Land Use Management Model for the Local Level