PORTO

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41.1579° N, 8.6291° W

SIZE: 41.42 km²

POPULATION: 252,687

POP. DENSITY: 6,100 people/km²

URBAN CLASSIFICATION (people/km²)

HYPER URBAN AREA (≥15,000)

DENSE URBAN AREA (1,500-14,999)

URBAN CLUSTER (300-1,499)

RURAL SETTLEMENT (50-299)

SPARSE RURAL (10-49)

REMOTE (1-9)

WILDERNESS (<1)

*BASED ON DEGURBA (EU Degree of Urbanisation) DATA

KEY ISSUES

Underfunding & Budget Cuts

Access Times to Healthcare Services

Healthcare Staff Retention

Weather Restricted Travel

Why Porto?

The city is a tourist hotspot facing significant challenges, including climate pressures and gentrification. Our studio investigates why displacement occurs within a historic urban fabric and how this can be mitigated.

Background

Much like the rest of Europe, parties further to the right of the political spectrum in Portugal have gained more momentum in recent years. The far-right "Chega" (Change) party made significant gains in the most recent general election, with the centre-left Socialist Party losing ground.

In Porto, this reflects a shift in views around immigration, tourism and national identity, as well as a significantly more polarising political discourse around how the city should be run.

Since the 2020 pandemic, Porto has recovered its social and economic condition well: The Porto Metropolitan Area now produces around €40 billion in wealth, equivalent to 16.2% of Portugal’s national GDP, with foreign investment and tourism fuelling this growth (Porto Municipal Council, Sustainable Development Report 2023, 2023). In 2023, nearly 6,000 jobs were created through Foreign Direct Investment, while the “Porto Leading Investors” programme generated over €2 billion in national production. Local policies in Porto also actively support scale-ups, digital innovation, and international collaboration (Porto Municipal Council, Sustainable Development Report 2023, 2023).

In 2018, Porto's mayor Rui Moreira enacted a program to renovate several buildings in the historic heart of Porto as social housing- a conservation initiative designed to preserve both the city's architecture as well as its social fabric:

"In the period of 30 years, the Historical Centre had lost 40% of its population.

Those who were left, were really there because they had no means to escape. How can we solve this?

We started slowly to buy up old buildings in the historic centre, and make small refurbishments. We now have about 13,000 council houses in the city of Porto. We tried to identify who are the people who were originally from these neighbourhoods and started working with them, and asking if they wanted to go back.”

"The Management Plan and Governance Model for the Historic Centre of Porto" was then implemented in 2021. Its 4 key outlines, according to Pedro Braganha, the city's Councillor for Urbanism, are as follows:

1: Heritage

To provide safeguard and promotion of the tangible and intangible heritage, through sustainable rehabilitation, integrated urban management and the empowerment, recognition and dissemination of the outstanding asset.

2: Population, Housing and Communities

To increase the resident population and the levels of dwelling comfort, and the strengthen community values.

Social Housing Renovation (2018)

3: Economy

To promote diversity, inclusion and economic sustainability, as well as the promotion of creativity and innovation. A key focus on inclusive and sustainable tourism.

4: Environment and Mobility

To improve mobility and strengthen environmental sustainability, in order to increase resilience.

Since these plans were enacted, much construction behind Porto's tiled facades can be seen underway across the city. However, not much up-to-date information about these programs can be found, and concerns about gentrification among the city's locals are palpable in conversation.

Porto’s historic centre- along with the Luis I bridge and the Monastery of Serra Do Pilar- has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, recognised for its outstanding urban landscape and 2,000 years of continuous history. Its preservation is guided by a comprehensive World Heritage Management Plan, which ensures protection of Porto’s unique architectural and cultural identity (World Heritage, 2018).

Luiz I Bridge and the Monastery of Serra Do Pilar

UNESCO World Heritage Site Boundary

Porto's Issues

Alongside displacement from urban centres, access to essential public services remains uneven, intensifying social inequalities. Delays, limited availability, and high costs in healthcare and education push many residents toward private alternatives, creating a divide between those who can afford supplementary services and those who cannot. Centralised infrastructure further restricts access for marginalised neighbourhoods, compounding vulnerability and limiting community resilience.

WhatsApp Image 2025-12-03 at 15.10.27.jpeg

Climate pressures amplify the other challenges that Porto's infrastructure and residents face. Droughts and rising temperatures disproportionately affect elderly populations and low-income households, while incidents of flooding have increased in frequency in recent years. Major floods have affected Porto at least once a year, every year since 2023, with the most recent being in October 2025.

Heavy Rainfall in Porto, October 2025

Flood Risk Areas (Areas below 91m elevation)- Porto

“We registered 68 incidents, most of which were flooding of public roads and structures in the Porto Metropolitan Area. No casualties or serious damage due to the rain were recorded.”

- José Costa, National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority.

October 2025

Despite this, community-led initiatives are emerging as crucial agents of cohesion and resilience. Projects such as Terra Solta illustrate how self-sustaining, locally driven communities can provide inclusive social spaces, foster economic opportunities, and promote environmental stewardship. These initiatives demonstrate the capacity of residents to actively shape their neighbourhoods and respond to local challenges, though they depend on ongoing support, investment, and alignment with wider urban planning strategies.

Terra Solta Community Farm

Rising housing costs and gentrification are displacing long-term residents, while rental markets are saturated and older housing stock deteriorates, requiring urgent investment. These abandoned and underutilised buildings present opportunities for strategic reuse, offering potential solutions for affordable housing and vital community spaces.

More than 30,000 buildings in Porto's city centre sit vacant.

14,806 properties are listed on Airbnb in Porto.

Porto has the 4th highest population of American expats in Portugal.

Foreign investment has revived the city after the 2020 pandemic, but with this boost also comes the danger of further gentrification. With rising housing costs and tourism, short-term rental technology platforms like Airbnb allow real estate assets to be more profitable.

Investment in tourism infrastructure and other developments have made the city more attractive to upper-middle class expats from the UK and USA. With this influx of wealthy expats and tourists, increasing house prices in Porto are further exacerbated, making them unaffordable for long-term residents. Areas that are attractive to tourists become increasingly empty of locals.

Gentrifying Areas in Porto

Porto Vacant Buildings

(per km²)

Porto Density Diagram

(population per km²)

Future Development

To maintain the character of Porto, old buildings often have the interiors demolished, new reinforcement with concrete or steel structures are then added to retain the original façade. Old buildings in Porto were built with granite stone or mixed-masonry exterior walls. The floors and roofs were timber, with little to no seismic reinforcement. As a result, retrofitting requires substantial reinforcement, modernization, and careful heritage-led management.

Porto’s challenges are intertwined, but so too are its opportunities. Addressing housing pressures, ensuring equitable access to public services, and preparing for climate risks are essential to protect communities most at risk. At the same time, investment in innovation, strategic urban planning, and community-driven initiatives offers a pathway toward a more inclusive, adaptive, and sustainable future for the city.

Porto’s growing role as a hub for startups, digital innovation, and international collaboration offers additional avenues for resilience. Investment in vacant or underused sites can create mixed-use spaces that integrate housing, work, and community infrastructure, ensuring that economic growth benefits a broader spectrum of the population. Linking innovation with sustainability and climate adaptation strengthens the city’s capacity to withstand future shocks while promoting equitable development.