The (Re)Industrialised Waterfront as a “Fluid Territory”

The Case of Lisbon and the Tagus Estuary

Datos Bibliográficos

ID22018010
AutoresJoão Pedro Costa (0000-0002-6069-7052, University of Lisbon), María J Andrade (0000-0002-6104-6569, Universidad de Málaga), Francesca dal Cin (0000-0001-8413-0838, University of Lisbon)
Año2023
Volumen8
Número3
Fecha de publicación2023-08-25
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaUrban Planning (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2183-7635 • E-ISSN: 2183-7635
EditorialCogitatio (PUBLISHER • PT)
DOI10.17645/up.v8i3.6770
OpenAlexW4386168533
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas19

If delta and estuary areas are observed under the perspective of a double system of dynamic infrastructures, the object of parallel “water/urbanisation” processes, the interface spaces become key nodes. In this perspective, port and waterfront areas can be described as spaces of mediation. The article argues that in the case of Lisbon and the Tagus, as possibly in several other port cities, these edge spaces can be described as “fluid territories.” The pre-eminent characteristic of “fluid territories” is that they are not permanent, neither in space nor time. These areas present accelerated transformations, less defined boundaries, and an increased spatial and management complexity. Moreover, “fluid territories” also mediate (a) the culture-natural environment, with human action appropriating the natural system through infrastructure and urbanisation, and (b) the industrialised economic estuary, with its continuous updating. To demonstrate this hypothesis, two samples of Lisbon’s riverfront are observed, recording its constant variability over the last 200 years of industrialisation, emphasising the “fluidity” of the mediating spaces. The understanding of the “fluid” characteristic of water/land mediation spaces is relevant for the present. Being dynamic and regularly reinventing spaces, spatial planning, public space, and architectural design processes in “fluid territories” should increasingly seek adaptability, flexibility, and openness to change. In the climatic context of continuous uncertainty combined with the need to make room for infrastructure, rethinking mediation areas through the lens of the theoretical concept of the “fluid territory” enables the implementation of urban transformation processes consistent with contemporary challenges

Adaptability · Archaeology · Civil engineering · Economic geography · Environmental planning · Environmental resource management · Geography · Industrialisation · Mediation · Political science · Sociology · Urbanization · Coastal and Marine Dynamics · Computer Science · Cruise Tourism Development and Management · Engineering · Environmental Science · Maritime Ports and Logistics · Ecology · Mechanical Engineering