Fernando B. Alves

• Professor
• Head of the Territorial Planning and Environment Division - DEC - FEUP at University of Porto

Facing substantial challenges due to rapid urbanization and socio-political shifts, the urban identities of our cities are in a state of significant transformation. This study explored the dynamic evolution of Damascus’s urban identity over distinct historical periods, employing a multi-dimensional methodology, which integrated spatial assessments,...

This article proposes a discussion on the potential application of polycentricity strategies in the management of strategic transboundary natural resources, such as shared water bodies and river basins with regional potential for water supply and energy production. As a method, it presents a review of the literature on polycentricity, focusing on t...

According to the scientific community, the most vulnerable populations to climate change in urban areas are older people (over 65 years old) and young children (under 5 years old). Due to their specific health conditions, these age-groups have a limited response to climatic exposures, not only due to physiological conditions, but also due to their...

Climate change and rapid population ageing pose challenges for communities and public policies. This systematic review aims to gather data from studies that present health indicators establishing the connection between climate change and the physical and mental health of the older population (≥ 65 years), who experience a heightened vulnerability t...

Urban identity, defined as the dynamic interplay between individuals and their environment, reciprocally shapes each other within the context of unique and defining characteristics of an urban locale. This concept has served as rich fodder for intellectual discourse, yet practical, applied studies have been restricted to local-scale “place identity...

Despite the inherently dynamic nature of the urban identity concept and its interconnections among various academic disciplines, including philosophy, psychology, environmental studies, and urbanism, the term is employed in distinct contexts within each field. This divergence in usage has resulted in ambiguity and a lack of clarity regarding the me...

In the environmental sciences, watersheds are constantly used as an influence area of forestry, soil, and water flow studies. Also, historically the same topographical and hydrological conditions were crucial for the choice and creation of settlements and cities. More than that, from a sociocultural standpoint the phenomenological perceptions o...

The Symposium on Spatial Planning is part of the 5th Doctoral Congress Engineering (DCE23) held on the 15th and 16th of June 2023 at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), Portugal. This Symposium is the responsibility of the Doctoral Program in Spatial Planning, which are pleased to invite the PhD students, as well as all...

The Symposium on Spatial Planning is part of the 5th Doctoral Congress Engineering (DCE23) held on the 15th and 16th of June 2023 at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), Portugal. This Symposium is the responsibility of the Doctoral Program in Spatial Planning, which are pleased to invite the PhD students, as well as all th...

An ENVI-met-operating methodology is case-studied aiming at contributing to the experience-exchange in ENVI-met’s applied-to-practice operation and providing its developers with feedback. The operating methodology is explained in detail as being applied – in an earlier research partnership with a city council’s urban-projects division – on an actu...

The formal existence of a specialisation in spatial planning at FEUP dates back 50 years. The present paper aims to contribute to the analysis of this experience, and to some extent of its contributions, by tracing the evolution of the themes of MSc dissertations and PhD thesis. under the scope of the different spatial planning specialisation cours...

EDITORIAL - The Research Group 1 (PEA) focuses on the interaction between spatial dynamics, urban environmental issues and impact assessment and decision systems. As time goes by, some changes and trends in the field of scientific research start to reveal themselves. At the spatial planning and environment level, the current research trends focus...

The current dimension of informal settlements in Maputo requires the definition of action models framed by empirical evidence, taking advantage of pre-existing socio-spatial and environmental conditions to define physical interventions through sustainable urban design strategies, with a view to their physical (and socio-economic) upgrading. Thus, t...

The energy efficiency evaluation as a result of the implementation of rehabilitation works in social housing buildings will be established with the calculation of the two following energy indicators: Global coefficient of heat losses through the building envelope-C(W/ºC) and Gross energy demand for heating-N(kWh). On the rehabilitation of the Macha...

The energy efficiency evaluation as a result of the implementation of rehabilitation works in social housing buildings will be established with the calculation of the two following energy indicators: Global coefficient of heat losses through the building envelope-C(W/ºC) and Gross energy demand for heating-N(kWh). On the rehabilitation of the Macha...

In recent years, studies on integration and social inclusion have received increasing attention and have raised the awareness of policy-makers about their importance, perhaps triggered by rising social tensions in the face of the current global financial and economic crisis. Devising concrete and practical strategies to promote social integration a...

Urban segregation and inequality are increasing in the majority, if not all, of the world's cities. Concerns about these issues have grown in the urban planning literature since they are viewed as a threat to social cohesion and stability. Unfortunately, research into this phenomenon in Damascus has been restricted and appears to be promoted by the...

This study follows up on the article ‘Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal’, published in 2020, as well its validation in the Historic Center of Porto, published in 2021. The 2020 article presented the theoretical and methodological bases relating qualities of public spaces, the walkability of older adults, and the direct benefits on he...

The worst effects of Climate Change on the lives of the Planet and Humanity, as we know them, continue to be observed globally, with a tendency to increase in number and in risk.Phenomena such as global warming, humanitarian crises and (in)sustainability and (in)security of socio-environmental systems are increasingly frequent and dangerous. Politi...

Description Guest editor - Special Issue - U.Porto Journal of Engineering - Title: Education and research in spatial planning: perspectives and challenges - ISSN: 2183-6493 On the occasion of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Spatial Planning and Environment Division – SPTA (1972-2022), of the Department of Civil Engin...

The need to study and understand urban resilience has been defended by academics, justified by a new global context characterized by a growing urban population and a changing climate. Moreover, the importance of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) has been recognized by UNESCO since 2003. Nevertheless, the relationship between ICH and urban resilien...

International and national guidelines have been promoting active aging while creating the necessary means for decision-makers and other relevant actors to work together (governance mechanisms) to implement local and active aging policies. This is especially important in the present COVID-19 pandemic context, posing greater challenges on older peopl...

The recognition, by public authorities, of the shared nature of urban places and the extent and variety of disabling conditions associated with the emergence of phenomena of social exclusion and a steadily ageing population has motivated the creation of new legislation and strategic tools under the umbrella of inclusive design and accessibility for...

Comfort in public spaces is essential to their attractiveness and continued role in improving human quality of life. Acceptable thermal conditions are determinant to ensuring users’ comfort. This study undertakes an assessment of three urban sites in Arouca, in the north of Portugal, using ENVI-met software. Simulations test the influence of paveme...

Comfort in public spaces is essential to their attractiveness and continued role in improving human quality of life. Acceptable thermal conditions are determinant to ensuring users’ comfort. This study undertakes an assessment of three urban sites in Arouca, in the north of Portugal, using ENVI-met software. Simulations test the influence of paveme...

This work provides a follow-up to the article Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal, published in 2020. Previous research linked the quality of public spaces, walkability characteristics relevant to older people, and the direct health benefits of walking for the same target group. The present article, on the other hand, aims to validate...

EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL - Dear Colleagues, Cities are currently facing relevant challenges for equity, social inclusion, health, and environmental sustainability. This Special Issue of the Sustainability Journal seeks to collect high-level interdisciplinary research studies regarding sustainable and healthy public spaces, supported by innovative ideas, sharing p...

The presentation explores a new technique that relates URBAN DESIGN with ACTIVE AGEING IN OUTDOOR SPACES. The method is based on relevant findings coming from literature review: some related to active ageing by analysing the program of the age-friendly cities (WHO) and others concerning the international classification of functioning (CIF). Special...

Good public spaces should encourage elderly people to get rid of their private/home space and should be considered as a vital opportunity to promote health through activity that elderly can develop in outdoor spaces. This study aims to propose a new methodology that combines the International Classification of Urban Design (IC-UD), based on "functi...

Nowadays, the elderly tend to make more trips: Health benefits resulting from their daily walking routines are an important topic in the context of urban renewal processes. Many health organizations and researchers have demonstrated the influence of the urban environment on walkability levels. This article aims to design a multifactor Walkability I...

seeks to analyze several existing cracking rehabilitation techniques on brick-wall façades. The examples concern to an upper-middle class housing complex, situated in Porto, Portugal. This housing complex holds 4 buildings (190 dwellings) and which construction is near 20 years old. The most significant anomalies that have been checked on this reha...

MOBI-Age - Promoção da Mobilidade Sustentável da População idosa - é um projeto exploratório que visa, de uma forma muito geral, estudar a adequação dos espaços urbanos à mobilidade do idoso. O estudo realizado pretendeu incidir sobre áreas problemáticas para a mobilidade pedonal do idoso (como são as zonas históricas), e envolver, desde o início,...

A well-known fact is that through an adequate architectural design we can reduce the demand for energy in buildings, increase energy efficiency and promote the use of renewable energy, in particular solar energy. In this paper we will discuss the need for Architectural Design Evaluation Criteria aiming at describing and comparing different possibil...

This article addresses the use of photographic comparison as a complementary visual appraisal method in an outdoor thermal perception survey. This survey was carried out during a Ph.D. research exploring how materials and vegetation influence thermal comfort in outdoor public spaces. Objective and subjective thermal perception parameters were combi...

Urban environmental sustainability is currently essential to ensure a healthy society, especially in the Self-Produced Neighbourhoods (SPN), since poverty and urbanization embody their environmental problems. However, considering that the temporal construction of the SPN sets up urban tissues linked to cultural and social values of its residents, t...

PREFACE Nesta publicação, Nuno Abrantes espelha uma longaexperiência na reabilitação de bairros sociais portugueses. A sua abordagem através dos princípios eestratégias do “projecto integrado”, excede a requalificação da arquitetura dos edifícios, dos bairros,dos espaços exteriores públicos; revela uma importância ao nível dos melhores exemplos eu...

Há mais de de um século que a rua tem sido palco de experimentações sucessivas, dirigidas não só à sua própria estrutura física como às relações que estabelece com os edifícios e os espaços envolventes. A grande viragem para um novo modelo de rua ocorre no séc. XX com os postulados modernos - CIAM -, que, de uma ou outra forma, privaram a rua da su...

Resumo: através desse trabalho se elaborou um diagnóstico do espaço público do Passeio das Virtudes, na cidade do Porto, um local de grande importância e aglomeração de pessoas, o qual está negligenciado pelo munícipe. Para tal, utilizou-se revisão bibliográfica referente à relação das cidades com seus espaços públicos e as transformações dos mesmo...

Ever always, regional or vernacular architecture, whose empirical knowledge was transmitted from generation to generation, sought to obtain in its form and local construction technique the balance between nature and buildings. In the regional architecture, buildings reflect their adaptation to climate characteristics and geography. Using similar sp...

The rehabilitation of social housing quarters is done with the purpose to answer three central questions: (1) to solve the existing anomalies that are often caused by rain water infiltrations through the vertical's building envelope and also through roof, condensation caused by the lack of insulation and poor existent ventilation and existing crack...

The rehabilitation of social housing quarters is done with the purpose of answering three central questions:-To solve the existing anomalies that are often caused by rain water infiltrations through the vertical's building envelope of the building and also through roof, condensation caused by the lack of insulation and poor existent ventilation and...

The rehabilitation of social housing quarters is done with the purpose of answering three central questions:-To solve the existing anomalies that are often caused by rain water infiltrations through the vertical's building envelope of the building and also through roof, condensation caused by the lack of insulation and poor existent ventilation and...

The rehabilitation of social housing quarters is done with the purpose of answering three central questions:-To solve the existing anomalies that are often caused by rain water infiltrations through the vertical's building envelope of the building and also through roof, condensation caused by the lack of insulation and poor existent ventilation and...

A abordagem do envelhecimento ativo baseia-se no reconhecimento dos direitos humanos dos idosos e dos princípios estabelecidos pelas Nações Unidas de independência, participação, dignidade, assistência e autorrealização. O espaço público prraça é o ambiente físico por excelência para permitir o alcance de boa parte dos objetivos das Nações Unidas p...

Este debate, que foi moderado por Olívia Guerra, arquiteta e investigadora na ETSAM- Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, teve como principais intervenientes Ester Figueras (* em gravação, dado não poder deslocar-se ao Porto nem estar presente via skype), da ETSAM, arquiteta; Professor Eduardo de Oliveira Fernandes (Engenheiro e Inve...

In the strictest sense, a “square” is the result of a grouping of houses around a free space, whose meaning, implicit in the definition itself, stands out as its defining feature – it is a closed space. Naturally, the definition of urban square raises discussion, given the divergent opinions on the role squares should play (or not) in the urban con...

The research project carried out aimed to establish guidelines for urban design, especially adjusted to specific climatic conditions and to local design practice. With the aid of a simulation program, Townscope III, several urban scenarios were characterized in what concerns solar access. Some results are presented for the specific case of a block...

RESUMO Estudos indicam que o acionamento da iluminação artificial ocorre nos primeiros minutos após o ingresso do usuário no espaço de permanência e depende da disponibilidade de iluminação natural e da adaptação visual no espaço de transição. Por outro lado, o desligamento depende do tempo que o usuário ficará ausente do espaço de permanência. Qua...

The transformation of European existing building stock towards very low energy buildings requires a new approach. In this context, it seems reasonable to think that buildings should no longer be renovated individually but as part of a global energy system. Focusing on larger urban units may present some scale advantages and may constitute an opport...

This article discusses the retrofitting of public spaces in compact urban areas bearing in mind the need for outdoor thermal comfort. The role of paving materials and vegetation was focused on a field survey undertaken at a square in Porto, Portugal. The potential for microclimatic improvement of different combinations of paving materials and veget...

The current difficulties in the Construction Industry have confirmed the urgent need for interdisciplinary between all the design disciplines, from engineering to architecture. The requirement for high levels of building efficiency and the optimization of the building process is making increasing demands on the accuracy of designs. The project is n...

Along the decades, planning has been evolving from expert-led or top-down approaches to more community-led, interactive and participatory approaches, valuing the social capital of local communities and putting citizens at the centre of planning processes. Research has been emphasizing the importance of local contexts to set goals and establish prio...

In the 1950s a ten-year municipal plan set off the construction of many public housing complexes in Porto to solve the need for housing, as industrialization phenomena had caused relevant migration to cities. These housing settlements (near half of the current public housing in Porto), despite their careful urban design, do not present nowadays sat...

A zona do ouro e a zona dos diamantes agregam a primeira experiência tipicamente urbana do Brasil, considerando-se a complexidade que caracteriza essa formação, de apropriação e usos diversos de sentido urbano, de modos de vida verdadeiramente urbanos, (SCARLATO, 2008). Ouro Preto, fundada em 1798, teve a sua origem junto aos garimpos de ouro nas M...

Nuno Abrantes; F.B. Alves; V. Abrantes; “The City of Porto and the Public Housing: Learning with Design Practice” in International Journal for Housing Science and Its Applications, VOL. 39 - nº 2, pp. – 65-78, Miami, USA, 2009 (ISSN 0146-6518).

Along the decades, planning has been evolving from expert-led or top-down approaches to more community-led, interactive and participatory approaches, valuing the social capital of local communities and putting citizens at the centre of planning processes. Research has been emphasizing the importance of local contexts to set goals and establish prio...

In the late twentieth century, the housing stock of Porto showed signs of social and urban imbalance. This characteristic is mostly due to the successive construction of large suburbs since the second half of the twentieth century, related to the "Plano de Melhoramentos" (Plan of Improvements). These barrios concentrated thousands of families, econ...

O panorama atual da Indústria da Construção tem vindo a confirmar a necessidade do reforço da interdisciplinaridade a nível profissional e científico. Tanto na eficácia do processo construtivo como no desempenho do ediAcio já construído, são cada vez maiores as exigências colocadas no rigor dos projetos. Sendo o projeto de um ediAcio a base da plan...

This article draws compositional analogies and unearth aesthetic influences and similarities between the Piazza del Campidoglio (1537) in Rome, designed by Michelangelo, and the Civic Square in Seinäjoki (1956), designed by Alvar Aalto; and between the steps of the Piazza di Spagna (1721) in Rome, designed by Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Spe...

Resumo Na última década tem-se vindo a assistir no panorama nacional e internacional arquitectónico ao (re) surgimento de uma corrente que procura na plasticidade da matéria construtiva do edifício uma forma de expressão. Essa corrente tem como base a aproximação do desenho de projecto à concretização física do edifício, conseguida na interiorizaçã...

Population ageing and urbanization are two global trends that together represent the major forces shaping the twenty-first century." (WHO, 2007) The issue addressed in this article converges to the motto of WHO enhanced by the election of 2012 as the year of active ageing. Within this concept of public spaces as "place of ageing", there is a clear...

Rapid urbanization to solve the housing problem is a reality in many parts of the world, in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The current severe economic crisis and the unemployment that will result will bring this issue again to the European agenda. This crisis is increasingly pointing to a subsistence economy. The single family dwelling with a piec...

In the 1950s a ten-year municipal plan (and its subsequent five-year extension) set off the construction of many public housing complexes in Porto to solve the need for housing, as industrialization phenomena had caused relevant migration to cities. These housing settlements (near half of the current total public housing in Porto), despite their ca...

Rapid urbanization to solve the housing problem is a reality in many parts of the world, in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The current severe economic crisis and the unemployment that will result will bring this issue again to the European agenda. This crisis is increasingly pointing to a subsistence economy. The single family dwelling with a piec...

In order to contribute to the effective humanization of the contemporary city and in line with the sustainability of urban areas, this paper focuses on primary pedestrian areas aiming to investigate and demonstrate the benefits of organization and the essential conditions of implementing “pedestrian networks”. The realization of its qualifying char...

The development of cities has led to an ambivalent discourse that has none too often drawn its boundaries from the very delimitation of urban physical space. However, in view of the revitalization of community life, other dimensions, such as the political, social, architectural and urban heritages, should be considered as well. Furthermore, the con...

The development of cities has led to an ambivalent discourse that has none too often drawn its boundaries from the very delimitation of urban physical space. However, in view of the revitalization of community life, other dimensions, such as the political, social, architectural and urban heritages, should be considered as well. Furthermore, the con...

The adoption of the building constructive matter as the expressive language in a project of architecture is becoming increasingly common. Now that technological problems are ever more resolved it is possible to go back to the essence of the building feat through understanding how to 'draw' each constructive system. The aim is to reinforce the forma...

Considering the predominant pedestrian-focused contemporary urban renewal programs and the urban heat island effects in summer, the improvement of outdoor (thermal) comfort is crucial to ensure that public spaces are positively used. Incorporating bio-climatic urban design principles into common urban design practice is undoubtedly relevant for re-...

Contemporary urban renewal is particularly aimed at promoting more pedestrian-focused public spaces. Microclimate optimization is crucial to ensure the success of these actions considering summer thermal conditions in temperate climates are increasingly stressed under the urban heat island. Indeed, microclimate optimization will determine human the...

Globalization, competitiveness and the current world economy require an increasing capacity to fulfill ever rising levels of excellence and demand. Faced with such challenge, Construction has to strive for constant improvement in its quality, optimizing the cost/benefit relation with fairness and justice, safeguarding both the comfort and the digni...

The balance between different degrees of freedom and control of use on public spaces depends on a set of factors: norms and conducts for users of the same space (individuals or groups), restrictions and cultural habits, space design and management. This study focuses on the way. we could achieve "space human dimensions" (users' needs and rights) ba...

In contemporary urban development, to improve the quality of public urban spaces has become one of the most outstanding goals of local urban policies, in order to increase pedestrian activities and people's social interaction. In this context, to promote outdoor thermal comfort has an utmost importance, especially considering the heat island phenom...