Emergence and Structure of Urban Centralities in a Medium-Sized Historic City

Eduardo Miranda,Jorge Batista E Silva,António Ricardo Da Costa

doi:10.1177/2158244020930002

Eduardo Miranda, Jorge Batista E Silva + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020930002

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Journal: SAGE Open	Publication Date: Jul 1, 2020
Citations: 3	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, University of Lisbon

Abstract

Within the last 20 years, medium-sized cities in Portugal’s interior have been subject to a process of “desertification.” They have progressively lost in terms of economic activity, value and vitality, with the corresponding erosion of their heritage value. One exception to this general trend is the town of Évora. Of particular note is the vitality of its historic center (designated as a World Heritage Site in 1986) and the balance achieved between the center and a number of subcenters outside the walls. Here, urban centralities have proven to be an essential component of the urban structure in the fight against urban failure. This research project analyzes the relationship between town planning and the emergence of urban centralities. Historic towns are a very particular case, with subcenters emerging as a town grows and the historic center co-evolving with the entire urban area and surrounding urban centralities. The rise of centralities testifies to the vitality of the town. This article seeks to understand what factors have led to the balance of urban centralities in Évora by examining their structure and how they have emerged in the context of planning policies and urban growth. The methodology adopted crosses the results of three different approaches to highlight the emergence of urban centralities: identification and assessment of urban centralities, analysis of urban areas based on a space syntax approach, and the study of urban planning and management policies focused on centralities. The results help to characterize urban centralities that coexist with a strong historic center.

Highlights

Urban centralities are seen as hubs of activity, as important elements within the structure of towns that contribute to urban vitality and fight urban failure
A number of these urban centralities are located near the historic center (HC), outside the old city in the ring encircling the walls (Figure 3)
In Évora, we identified five types of urban centralities (Figure 3) that fit the typology described by Salgueiro et al (2007) for medium-sized Portuguese cities

Summary

Introduction

Urban centralities are seen as hubs of activity, as important elements within the structure of towns that contribute to urban vitality and fight urban failure. Urban policies and planning dictate measures regarding the location, size, and composition of these urban centralities, but these regulations alone are unable to provide urban growth. The real long-term evolution of urban development depends on many macro factors: the economic, social, cultural, and political environment; the urban system as a whole; the positive or negative influence of planning regulations; the desires of private investors and the real estate market. Urban centralities are associated with a given city’s evolution, but the influence of local factors can only be perceived over long periods of time. This article examines the emergence of such urban centralities in a town that has avoided the more common fate of urban failure of middle-sized towns and cities in the interior of Portugal.

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