Detailed Issues in Safeguarding Planning

Abstract

The general theme of the rehabilitation of old urban areas, although it concerns a practice that has been systematically applied in European urbanism only over the past 30 years, is supported by a large body of references—both practical case studies and an extensive specialized literature. It also benefits from the establishment of more or less widespread (or generalizable) methodologies and legal frameworks, which vary in effectiveness, whether in an international context or within the narrower scope of Portugal. Nevertheless, this remains an open topic—a seemingly inexhaustible issue, relevant and capable of resisting the necessary consensus and synthesis across the diverse disciplinary fields it encompasses.

This article aims to address this theme by critically examining current urban planning practices in areas recognized for their heritage value, which we conveniently—but not rigorously—refer to as “historic centres.” We argue that their protection and enhancement cannot rely exclusively on any single scale of the various territorial management instruments but depend on intense urban management activity.