Porto urban regeneration soared in the last three years

A new Porto landscape is emerging: vibrant urban spaces shared by pedestrians, runners, cyclists, car and bus drivers.

Urban rehabilitation in Porto has skyrocketed in the last three years. The city is currently undergoing rebuilding, after a period of decay of Porto historic centre, in the early 2000.

In the last year alone, Porto Vivo - Urban Rehabilitation Society, has received more than 1,300 applications and 308 new urban rehabilitation cases were recorded, 153 more than in the previous year. Porto.pt travelled from Ribeira to Bolhão, a one kilometre ride and found 37 buildings undergoing deep rehabilitation.

These figures are noteworthy on the significant work that the municipality has been preparing with regard to the rehabilitation works for the city centre area, of which 60% is meant for housing and 23% for trade.

A report by the Society for Urban Rehabilitation, Porto Vivo, shows that the number of real estate in good repair and condition is increasing, and by 2016, 74% of existing property was already considered in a good or average state of repair.

The percentage of real estate, whose state of repair is considered poor has been steadily decreasing, and the works in progress extend to the majority of these buildings.

Since 2013, the number of buildings in a poor state of repair has decreased to 13% in 2016, and this number is expected to substantially shrink in the next two years, given the rehabilitation and conservation effort that is underway.

As far as housing is concerned, almost 500 quality housing and commercial dwellings were created in the historic centre, which represent more than 1,000 prospective residents, and more than 130 commercial premises, reversing the trend of the city historic centre being almost completely deserted in the years before the tourism boom and the current rehabilitation process.

Porto City Hall is undergoing rehabilitation works in more than 130 dwellings in the city centre. These infrastructures belong to the city council and the local government is investing more than four million euros in these dwellings. The entitlement to these rental apartments is based on criteria of social need such as lack of assets and low income or those that have already lived in the city centre and had been relocated to the suburbs.

The municipality has been executing its preemptive right over transactions in that area, in order to foster rented social housing in the Historic Centre of the city of Porto.

Also, Porto Vivo is launching non-profit rental housing programmes that show a growing interest to live in the city historic centre, especially since downtown, as vibrant as it is at present, has become not only more appealing but also safer for residents.

The strategic leadership that Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, and his team are pursuing to regenerate and protect Porto's public spaces are having a marked impact on the quality of life of people from Porto.

The city of Porto is being reshaped to reducing the dominance of vehicles on Porto's streets and improving conditions for walking and cycling and also reducing the CO2 emissions.

Public Transportation Company, STCP presented the first bus powered by an electrical motor. The eBUS, as it is called, is currently being tested on two lines of the transportation network in the city of Porto, in the framework of both the renewal of the bus fleet and the bet on environmentally friendly vehicles for the city.

It is common knowledge that a city that is attractive to everyone offers better quality of life and long-term economic growth.

In that framework, the municipality links the revitalization of the central business district to big business incentives. 

The search for an office space has skyrocketed in the past two years in Porto. This is the conclusion of a full study report from Cushman Wakefield / Predibisa regarding office market demand.

According to the document, Porto has become a hot spot for technological companies and by 2014 the demand was mostly domestic and, since that year, the international demand for office space in Porto real estate market has increased on a consistent basis, both for technological and financial companies.

As far as connectivity is concerned, the city provides a balanced transport system: the train, the bus, the metro network, the nearby airport.

Rui Moreira, Mayor of Porto, recalled that according to the Financial Times' "fdi Intelligence" reference publication, Porto is among the three best cities to invest in South Europe.

Another important company seats at Porto today. Euronext moved from Belfast to settle in Porto. The IT Technologic Centre is located at Avenida da Boavista and will secure the trans-European Stock Exchange management platform of this important company.

Urban renewal is less based on destruction and more on renovation and investment, and today it is an integral part of the local government's policies.

These restoration and rehabilitation works were also possible in such a relatively short period of time, less than 3 years, because although there was no public investment, the municipality provided flexible licence agreements.

The territorial and social cohesion of the City is a priority of the current Municipal Cabinet and as such, the Urban Rehabilitation Operation launched in Campanhã is "an opportunity to build a new city, the eastern part of Porto", as highlighted by Rui Moreira, mayor of Porto.

This is the difference, in the city of Porto today, a city where public space-related transport, regeneration, environment, culture and economy projects contribute to the quality of life of inhabitants and visitors.

One might say that the city of Porto preserves not only artistic monuments, but the monument of the history of the city.