Documentary evidence of urban management in Portugal

the case of Sines (1914-1951)

Abstract

Between 1914, the year of the restoration of the municipality of Sines, and 1951, when it was published the General Regulation of Urban Buildings in Portugal, the licensing of private works in Sines, one of the oldest municipal competencies, resulted in a collection of requests that allow us to introduce the study of the urban management of one municipality in particular, that of Sines, which did not result in the production of private building work record files.

The first step is to review the scientific literature on the concepts of architectural archives and private construction processes. In a second phase, based on the documentary research method, the regulatory framework is analyzed in contrast to the documentation produced and the local context. The instruments that have regulated urban management in Sines since the restoration of the municipality during the period in question are identified and analyzed. It concludes with a characterization of the dynamics of licensing and its difficulties, in the light of its regulations and the local context.