Polis Programme – a programme or a lack of programme for the requalification of cities?

Abstract

The Polis Programme was recently created as a programme for urban regeneration and environmental enhancement of cities. Considering that the pursuit of its objectives calls upon expertise from various technical fields and requires the coordination and integrated management of the operations to be carried out within the scope of the different specific interventions, it was deemed necessary to create its own management model. In the enabling law that makes this possible, powers are granted to the Government to adopt measures which, in essence, amount to derogations from some of the general urban planning rules recently approved by Decree-Law no. 380/99 and by the new Expropriations Code, in the name of “an effective implementation of the objectives to be achieved.” One may ask: are these not the very objectives that should be pursued throughout the entire field of urban planning practice? The implementation of the measures set out in the plans, through the coordination of the various entities involved?