PEDU rehabilitation/regeneration of public spaces.

Cascais and its surroundings are important hubs of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, due to their capacity to establish and attract new activities and functions and for their capacity for urban renewal and requalification of the territory, based on their natural and cultural values. It is scenic and close to Lisbon, as an important economic, cultural and service centre.
Largely based on its coastline and the quality urban and environmental standards that constitute the consolidated Cascais-Carcavelos axis, they have fostered, particularly in the interior of the municipality but also in the peripheral areas of the main urban centres and in their interstitial spaces, an urban development with characteristics of a peripheral area close to the capital, contributing to a marked urban decline and strong degradation processes.

This urban regeneration strategy constitutes an instrument of guidance and support for the definition of Urban Rehabilitation Operations and includes the following objectives strategic outlined within the scope of the delimitation of the ARU:

- Promote the requalification of buildings that are degraded or functionally inadequate, improving housing conditions and safety against seismic risk and fire;

- Articulate the duty of rehabilitation of buildings that falls to private individuals with the public responsibility to qualify public space, equipment and modernize the infrastructures;

- Qualify and integrate especially vulnerable urban areas, promoting inclusion social and territorial cohesion;

- Recover functionally obsolete urban spaces, promoting their potential for attract innovative and competitive urban functions;

- Establish a framework of effective and mobilizing incentives;

- Promote the adoption of energy efficiency criteria;

- Make public or collective use spaces inclusive and accessible to all, prioritizing pedestrians;

- Consider public space as an essential factor for reinforcing and enhancing of the built and natural heritage, as well as the memory of the place;

- Promote and value historical-cultural heritage as a factor of identity and competitiveness;

- Intervene together with owners, within the applicable regulatory framework, regarding properties vacant, especially those that are in a state of abandonment;

- Boost the rental market, promoting age and social diversity in the living population on the urban centres;

- Counteract the process of desertification of urban centres, as well as control the tertiarization trend;

- Ensure adequate coordination between the different actors;

- Streamline prior control procedures, with a view to reducing costs context.

The results were demonstrated through satisfaction surveys conducted among residents, which were delivered in a timely manner. The interviews conducted demonstrate that residents positively evaluate the interventions, highlighting the improvement in the experience and use of the spaces that were intervened, promoting an improvement in the quality of life of the population.
The comparison between the “before and after” of the many interventions highlight the success of the project.

The interventions mentioned resulted from the application of good practices, notably through the elimination of architectural barriers and promotion of universal accessibility. Particular attention was given to materiality, ensuring the quality of the work and the identity values of the place, using low-cost solutions in terms of maintenance. The pedestrian area was expanded, prioritising walkability over space allocated to cars. In addition, pedestrian safety at crossings was enhanced, with the application of tactile flooring to assist the blind.

https://www.cascais.pt/sub-area/projetos-encerrados