How Cities need to Change

Reflection on a theme that challenges us all: the transformation of our cities.

Cities are in constant evolution; they are truly living organisms, pulsating and dynamic.
However, to direct this change effectively, we urgently need to answer a fundamental question: what vision do we have for our cities? What cities do we want to leave for future generations? What are the role models which inspire us?

However, in order to manage this change effectively, we urgently need to answer a fundamental question: What vision do we have for our cities? What kind of cities do we want to leave to future generations? What are the role models that inspire us?
To ensure the success of this change, it is first important to understand what is inevitable and predictable on the horizon. Because, let's face it, the information available is vast and the certainty that emerges is crystal clear: cities are changing, but we must manage this change or they will become characterless, mutilated and devoid of any appeal for their inhabitants.
Here is a fact that should give us food for thought: By 2050, 70% of the world's population is expected to live in urban areas. Imagine the impact this will have: more vehicles, more pressure on infrastructures and facilities, more pollution, more challenges but also, let's be optimistic, more opportunities!

In the specific case of Portugal, we have experienced population growth in recent years, driven mainly by immigration. However, this growth is not evenly distributed across our territory. On the contrary, there is a clear concentration in the coastal areas, to the detriment of the inland regions, which are facing a worrying depopulation.
According to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Portugal's resident population is estimated at 10,639,726 people in 2023, an increase of 123,105 inhabitants compared to 2022. This growth is mainly due to positive net migration, although the natural balance (difference between births and deaths) remains negative.
Urban development in Portugal shows a concentration from Caminha to Setúbal and along the Algarve coast.
The interior is dispersed, but no less productive.
A large metropolitan area extends along the central and northern coast, with arms reaching inland. National Road N2 serves as the backbone connecting the interior.
The cities will assume the central role of this megacity and will have to ensure the continuity of their most distinctive features, which have made them the main attractions of their existence.
And what will be the impact of this growth? How will we deal with increasing pollution, unbridled consumption of resources and exponential waste production? How will we deal with the harmful consequences of uncontrolled growth, such as worsening social inequality, the lack of adequate housing and the overloading of public services and facilities?

So we need to ask ourselves: what vision do we have for our cities in 2050? Do we strive for green and vibrant places, or do we give in to a chaotic scenario of concrete and pollution? The various visions of the future, from dystopian scenarios to urban utopias, which are abundantly portrayed in the cinema or through artificial intelligence exercises, are easily accessible images that are both fascinating and frightening at the same time.
In this context, the four fundamental pillars that should guide change in our cities emerge: Sustainability, Technology, Community and Opportunity.

In terms of sustainability, we urgently need to reduce the environmental footprint of cities through the use of renewable energy, efficient resource management and the promotion of sustainable mobility.
The examples of initiatives we can implement are growing: from green roofs and urban gardens to rainwater harvesting systems, green buildings, public lighting powered by clean energy and the creation of more green spaces that help improve air quality, reduce heat and increase our well-being. We need to achieve balance between the necessary use and the changes that come with it. Urban rehabilitation is a good example of this balance.

In the field of Technology, it is important to explore the potential of smart cities, by implementing sensors, applications, and artificial intelligence to optimize urban management.
I am referring to intelligent transport systems, adaptable public lighting, automated waste collection, and air quality monitoring. But, simultaneously, we cannot overlook cybersecurity and data protection, crucial challenges in the era of smart cities.

Regarding the Community, we have a fundamental role to play: creating more inclusive and interactive cities, with public spaces that promote coexistence and diversity.
We have to guarantee access to decent housing, quality schools and hospitals, cultural centers, and leisure spaces for all ages.
The community must have an active part in the decision-making and in the search for solutions for urban problems.
The community has to be more informed, aware, and conscious that it is not up to the State to act in all areas, however it has to support and lead.
Responsibility has to be shared and owned by all parties. Each one of us has to reflect on our role in building better cities and take pride in the goals achieved.

Individual action is as important as collective action. It can be through simple actions carried out in everyday life, such as reduce car trips, planting trees, recycling waste, or participating in volunteering projects. We have to teach and adopt sustainable habits and support initiatives that promote urban transformation and protect heritage.

Finally, regarding Opportunity, it is important to keep in mind that the longer we take action, the lower the probability of a successful change.
We are not a rich country, but we act like one. The slower we move, higher the price of the transition.
When we impose the cheapest alternative to the State, whether in the acquisition of goods or services, we are chosing lack of quality and durability. On a working visit to Portugal, a Swiss engineer wondered if we were a rich country when he saw how potholes were patched on a road. We don't have money to do it wrong several times, he said, we have to do it right once. And he's right.

The opportunity for change implies financial and human resources, leadership, organization, and planning.
When we have these pillars well established, then we can create models, test strategies, create visions, project, make choices!

Choices that can include:
• Filling in the urban fabric and its rehabilitation, when resources are scarce and resources have to be optimized.
• Building high-rise buildings in expansion areas, optimizing the use of urban space, reducing energy consumption, increasing soil permeability and agricultural production (urban gardens).
• Using electric and shared vehicles, bicycles, urban cable cars, and accessible pedestrian paths, to reduce pollution.
• Valuing and increasing public space. And here it is exclusively up to the municipalities and the central administration to act - create public spaces that meet the needs of different groups of the population, squares with free Wi-Fi, parks with gym equipment, outdoor cinemas, and spaces for cultural events. Interventions in public space are always levers for the rehabilitation of the surrounding built and social environment.

And to illustrate the transformative potential of these approaches, I will tell you about three examples of cities that stand out globally for some of the choices they have made: Curitiba (Brazil); Copenhagen (Denmark) and Singapore.

Curitiba:
• Public Transportation: Curitiba is a pioneer in Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, with exclusive lanes and stations that speed up bus entry and exit. The city invests in integrated transport, with a network that covers a large part of the territory, encouraging the use of public transport over cars.
• Urban Planning and Green Areas: Curitiba has a master plan that prioritizes green areas and parks, with the aim of preserving the environment and improving quality of life. The city implemented recycling and waste management programs that serve as a model for other cities.

Copenhagen:
• Sustainable Mobility: Copenhagen is known as the "world's bicycle capital," with an extensive and safe cycle path infrastructure. The city invests in renewable energies and aims to become carbon neutral in 2025.
• Quality of Life and Public Spaces: Copenhagen invests in quality public spaces, such as parks and leisure areas, which encourage coexistence and well-being. The city has a strong sense of community and values citizen participation in urban planning.

Singapore:
• Urban Planning and Efficiency: Singapore is an example of efficient urban planning, with optimized use of space and high-quality infrastructure. The city invests in technology and innovation to improve urban management, from public transport to waste collection.
• Garden Cities: Singapore strongly invests in green areas, to compensate for the large urban population load. The "gardens by the bay" are a great example of this commitment.
• Sustainability and Innovation: Singapore invests in green technologies and innovative solutions to face the challenges of urbanization, such as water management and energy production.

These examples demonstrate that it is possible to build a more sustainable and humane urban future, based on strategic planning, investment in infrastructure, and active citizen participation.
And so that there are no doubts: there are no changes or effective options without rigorous planning. If macro-planning is to be the responsibility of the central government, with the support of local government, then municipal planning must be the exclusive responsibility of local government.
Planning is not an easy task. It is a complex process, which involves various areas, disciplines, and specialists and official entities...
The procedures are not simple and tend to become more complicated as human knowledge deepens. New studies become necessary, new causal relationships emerge, and the impacts of our actions become increasingly difficult to predict. But, despite the complexity, we cannot paralyze or make changes leaving everything as it is.
As mentioned at the beginning, cities are in constant transformation, they are living organisms. And this change is driven by people, by their choices, by their desires, often without them realizing how cities, in turn, shape them.
In the end, we all have to be an active part of this change. But what is the scope of intervention for each of the actors? Private and public? What vision do we have for our cities? These are the questions that anyone intending to lead a municipality needs to know the answer to.

(Text presented at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon, on 17.03.2025, in a session organized by Jornal Económico and Novobanco)