In the final version of the REOT, which Lusa had access to today, it is argued that, in a future revision of the Municipal Master Plan (PDM) and in the development of territorial plans or other instruments, "it is essential that the allocation of land use takes into account, first of all, its suitability and risks, and only then the integration of adaptation options".

Lisbon City Council (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) will analyse on Thursday a proposal by the Urban Planning Councillor, Joana Almeida, to approve the final version of the REOT, for submission to the Municipal Assembly for consideration.

The document states in its conclusions that, regarding "the maps of natural and man-made risks, it is important to mention the relevance of updating them in view of the studies and tools that have been developed and are under development, and whose matters should be considered in a future alteration or revision of the PDM, both through the integration of adaptation options, and even the allocation of land use".

"Lisbon, which is already naturally susceptible to seismic risk, has been suffering extreme weather events that have become more severe and more frequent, as a consequence of climate change", it is highlighted in the document's presentation note.

Councillor Joana Almeida warns that "the city is also seeing episodes of urban flooding and heat waves, among others, becoming more frequent and more intense", so, in these cases, "it is urgent to take strong and proactive measures in risk prevention and mitigation".

"Given the worsening climate situation and the risks already identified in the city of Lisbon, there is already a gap in territorial management instruments in relation to the state of the art in risk modelling and preventive management, which urgently needs to be corrected in the near future", she adds.

The report warns of Lisbon's high vulnerability to "direct tidal phenomena associated with heavy rainfall and storm surges, with construction continuing in the riverside area", or to heat waves, aggravated by scarce tree cover.

The plan for the municipal ecological structure shows a high degree of implementation, since, of the nine green corridors that make up the fundamental ecological structure, "five are 100% implemented" and the remaining four "between 75% and 60%".

The REOT concludes that "the accessibility and transport plan had a low level of implementation", first because the proposed road network model (grid network), as well as the public transport network, associated with the development of the Third Tagus Crossing (TTT), was never implemented".

Since 2012, two urbanisation plans and 10 detailed plans have been approved, and one plan of each type has been revoked, but the report highlights 11 detailed plans for urban redevelopment "without any concrete action (despite three of them being after 2018)" and reveals that "13 have a low degree of implementation of the areas to be consolidated".

In addition, one urban rehabilitation plan has practically no concrete actions and reveals a significant increase in buildings with a "bad" and "very bad" state of conservation.

The REOT, which provides support for reflection on the situation and territorial dynamics, notes that there has been a considerable focus on urban rehabilitation, but "investments have not translated into meeting some of the needs of the resident population, for example, in access to affordable or controlled-cost housing".

"The rehabilitation of residential buildings, especially in the centre, was largely motivated by AL [Local Accommodation], contributing more to tourist use than to housing, a situation that also ended up contributing to the departure of the resident population, especially in parishes such as Santa Maria Maior and Misericórdia", where population losses and the increase in AL, "were quite extreme", it is noted.

On the other hand, the lack of investment in the rehabilitation of the wastewater drainage system "puts Lisbon in a very critical situation and has caused structural collapses in collectors, causing flooding in public roads and homes, a situation that needs to be resolved urgently", it is recommended.

"Some infrastructures show a worrying degree of ageing. The wastewater drainage system, for example, already suffers frequent structural collapses in collectors, causing flooding in public roads and homes, a situation that needs to be resolved urgently (more than 50% of the network is over 40 years old)", corroborates Councillor Joana Almeida.

The submission of the REOT for public discussion was approved in January by the executive with the abstention of the PCP, BE, Livre and Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) and the votes in favour of the PS and the PSD/CDS-PP leadership, which governs without an absolute majority.

In the public discussion, between February 1 and April 4, no submissions were made, so there was no consideration, and only "minor corrections" were incorporated into the final version of the REOT 2022.

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