URBAN AREA IN ALMADA

ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND PROPOSAL FOR LAND-USE PLANNING

Course:  Landscape Planning Municipal Level

Date: July 2010

Instructor: Manuela Magalhães, PhD

Collaborators: Manuela Gonçalves and Marisa Marques

Almada is a municipality included in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, located on the South bank of the Tagus River. Despite having suffered an accelerated urban growth over the last decades, it still retains a large portion of its rural identity and natural resources. This work aims to create a sustainable land-use proposal for the municipality, one that protects and valorises the natural systems while simultaneously allowing the population to grow without compromising quality of life. The strategy used is based on the protection of sensitive areas, identification of ideal areas for urban growth and interconnections of environmentally-friendly transportation systems through the municipality. That strategy was subsequently applied in a more detailed scale to Areias, a locality at the frontier between rurality and steady urban grow. The circulatory system lends the concept to the project, connecting the entire county at the heart of the urban area, where the main roads intersect. Traffic flows along secondary and tertiary roads and paths, marked with different tree vegetation. The North-South road axis is treated with special care as it extends the entire county. A tram network improves mobility while decreasing car use, and pavements are blended to make roads friendlier to pedestrians. The red rectangular lights signalling tram stops alert drivers to the need to reduce speed and watch for pedestrians. The sensitive areas are occupied with sustainable activities tailored to their specific characteristics, and are included in the itineraries as places of leisure, culture, education or agricultural production.