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PORTUGAL The westernmost country of mainland Europe

Dunaújvárosi Főiskola

Raquel Santos - L8YC5P

2015

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Index

Index of Images ................................................................................................................ 1

Index of charts .................................................................................................................. 1

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 2

1. Portugal (General Data) ............................................................................................ 3

2. Geography ................................................................................................................. 4

3. Government ............................................................................................................... 5

3.1. Legislative branch .............................................................................................. 5

3.2. Administrative divisions .................................................................................... 5

4. Tourism ..................................................................................................................... 7

5. Transport ................................................................................................................... 8

6. Demographics.......................................................................................................... 10

6.1. Metropolitan Areas .......................................................................................... 10

7. Urbanization ............................................................................................................ 11

8. Suburbanization ....................................................................................................... 13

9. Deurbanization ........................................................................................................ 15

Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 17

References ...................................................................................................................... 18

Index of Images Image 1 - The 18 districts of mainland Portugal .............................................................. 6

Image 2 - The suburbanisation in the center of Portugal ................................................ 13

Image 3 - Percentage change in population .................................................................... 15

Index of charts Chart 1 - Metropolitan Areas of Portugal ....................................................................... 10

Chart 2 - Largest cities or towns in Portugal .................................................................. 12

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Introduction

Portugal is a sovereign country located in southwestern Europe, whose territory is

located in the western part of the peninsula. The Portuguese territory has a total area of

92,090 km and is bordered to the north and east by Spain and the south and west by the

Atlantic Ocean. Portugal is the nation further to the west of Europe.

Throughout this project will be detailed issues relating to Portugal, such as geography,

government, tourism, transport, demography. Finally, within the logistics, issues will be

addressed as urbanization, suburbanization and the deurbanization in Portugal. These

phenomena, over the years, each in his own way, have been more evident in Portugal.

Urbanization is the removal process of rural characteristics of a place or region, to urban

characteristics. It is usually associated with the development of civilization and

technology.

Demographically, the term means the redistribution of populations from rural to urban

settlements, but may also refer to the action of providing an area with infrastructure and

urban facilities. Urbanization is all the work necessary to provide an area of

infrastructure, such as water, sewer, gas, electricity and / or urban services such as

transport, education, health, etc. The suburbanization is the growth process of cities out

of their limits, expanding to other urban areas. There is a decentralization of people,

industries and services of the city's central areas to the periphery, so this process leads

to the growth of the suburbs. Finally, the deurbanization means the opposite of

urbanization, no longer be urban.

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1. Portugal (General Data)

Capital

and largest city

Lisboa

Official languages Portuguese

Government Unitary semi-presidential constitutional

republic

- President: Aníbal Cavaco Silva

- Prime Minister: Pedro Passos Coelho

- Assembly President: Maria da Assunção

Esteves

Joined the EEC 1 January 1986

Ethnic groups 96.3% Portuguese

3.7% others

Legislature Assembly of the Republic

Area

- Total

92 090 km2

Population (2014 estimate) 10 427 301

Density 115,3 hab./km²

Currency Euro (€)

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2. Geography

The territory of Portugal includes an area in the Iberian Peninsula (referred to as the

continent by most Portuguese) and two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: the

archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores. It lies between latitudes 32° and 43° N, and

longitudes 32° and 6° W.

Mainland Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus that flows from Spain and

disgorges in Tagus Estuary, in Lisbon, before escaping into the Atlantic. The northern

landscape is mountainous towards the interior with several plateaus indented by river

valleys, whereas the south, that includes the Algarve and the Alentejo regions, is

characterized by rolling plains.

Portugal's highest peak is the similarly named Mount Pico on the island of Pico in the

Azores. This ancient volcano, which measures 2,351 m is an iconic symbol of the

Azores,] while the Serra da Estrela on the mainland is an important seasonal attraction

for skiers and winter sports enthusiasts.

Portugal's Exclusive Economic Zone, a sea zone over which the Portuguese have special

rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, has 1,727,408 km2. This is the

3rd largest Exclusive Economic Zone of the European Union and the 11th largest in the

world.

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3. Government

Portugal has been a semi-presidential constitutional republic since the ratification of

the Constitution of 1976, with Lisbon, the nation's largest city, as its capital. The

constitution grants the division, or separation, of powers among legislative, executive

and judicial branches. The four main institutions as described in this constitution are

the President of the Republic, the Parliament, known as the Assembleia da República

(Assembly of the Republic), the Government, headed by a Prime Minister, and the

courts.

Portugal operates a multi-party system of competitive legislatures/local administrative

governments at the national-, regional- and local-levels. The Legislative Assembly,

Regional Assemblies and local municipalities and/or parishes, are dominated by two

political parties, the Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party, in addition to

the Democratic Unity Coalition, the Left Bloc and the Democratic and Social Centre –

People's Party, which garner between 5 and 15% of the vote regularly.

3.1. Legislative branch

The Assembly of the Republic is a unicameral body composed of up to 230 deputies.

Elected by universal suffrage according to a system of proportional representation,

deputies serve four-year terms of office, unless the President dissolves the Assembly

and calls for new elections.

3.2. Administrative divisions

Portugal is divided into 308 municipalities. Operationally, the municipality and civil

parish, along with the national government, are the only legally identifiable local

administrative units identified by the government of Portugal (for example, cities, towns

or villages have no standing in law, although may be used as catchment for the defining

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services). For statistical purposes the Portuguese government also identifies NUTS,

inter-municipal communities and informally, the district system, used until European.

Continental Portugal is agglomerated into 18 districts, while the archipelagos of the

Azores and Madeira are governed as autonomous regions; the largest units, established

since 1976, are either mainland Portugal (Portuguese: Portugal Continental) and

the autonomous regions of Portugal (Azores and Madeira).

The 18 districts of mainland Portugal are: Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Castelo

Branco, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisbon, Portalegre, Porto, Santarém, Set

úbal,Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and.

Image 1 - The 18 districts of mainland Portugal

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4. Tourism

Portugal is among the 20 most visited countries in the world, receiving an average of 13

million foreign tourists each year. Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in

Portugal's economy, contributing to about 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Tourist hotspots in Portugal are Lisbon, Algarve, Madeira and the city of Coimbra, also,

between 4-5 million religious pilgrims visit Fátima each year, where apparitions of the

Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children reportedly took place in 1917.

The Sanctuary of Fátima is one of the largest Roman Catholic shrines in the world. The

Portuguese government continues to promote and develop new tourist destinations, such

as the Douro Valley, the island of Porto Santo, and Alentejo. Lisbon is the 16th

European city which attracts the most tourists (with seven million tourists occupying the

city's hotels in 2006, a number that grew 11.8% compared to previous year). Lisbon in

recent years surpassed the Algarve as the leading tourist region in Portugal. Porto and

Northern Portugal, especially the urban areas north of Douro River valley, was the

tourist destination which grew most (11.9%) in 2006, surpassing Madeira (in 2010), as

the third most visited destination.

Most tourists in Portugal are British-, French-, Spanish-, Dutch- or German-origin

visitors, travel by low cost airliners, and not only seek sun and beaches, but increasingly

search for cultural, gastronomic, environmental or nautical experiences (or travel for

reasons of business).

In 2014, Portugal was elected The Best European Country by the USA Today.

The main tourist regions can be broken-down into: the Greater

Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa), the Algarve, Greater Porto and Northern Portugal

(Portuguese: Porto and Norte), the Portuguese Islands (Portuguese: Ilhas

Portuguesas: Madeira and Azores), and Alentejo. Other tourist regions include Douro

Sul, Templários, Dão-Lafões, Costa do Sol, Costa Azul, Planície Dourada, that are

unknown to many tourists or visitors.

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5. Transport

By the early 1970s Portugal's fast economic growth with increasing consumption and

purchase of new automobiles set the priority for improvements in transportation. Again

in the 1990s, after joining the European Economic Community, the country built many

new motorways. Today, the country has a 68,732 km (42,708 mi) road network, of

which almost 3,000 km (1,864 mi) are part of system of 44 motorways. Opened in 1944,

the first motorway (which linked Lisbon to the National Stadium) was an innovative

project that made Portugal among one of the first countries in the world to establish a

motorway. But, although a few other tracts were created (around 1960 and 1970), it was

only after the beginning of the 1980s that large-scale motorway construction was

implemented. In 1972, Brisa, the highway concessionaire, was founded to handle the

management of many of the regions motorways. On many highways, toll needs to be

paid, see Via Verde. Vasco da Gama bridge is the longest bridge in Europe.

Continental Portugal's 89,015 km2 (34,369 sq mi) territory is serviced by three

international airports located near the principal cities of Lisbon, Porto and Faro.

Lisbon's geographical position makes it a stopover for many foreign airlines at several

airports within the country. The primary flag-carrier is TAP Portugal, although many

other domestic airlines provide services within and without the country.

A national railway system that extends throughout the country and into Spain, is

supported and administered by Comboios de Portugal. Rail transport of passengers and

goods is derived using the 2,791 km (1,734 mi) of railway lines currently in service, of

which 1,430 km (889 mi) are electrified and about 900 km (559 mi) allow train speeds

greater than 120 km/h. The railway network is managed by the REFER while the

transport of passengers and goods are the responsibility of Comboios de Portugal(CP),

both public companies. In 2006 the CP carried 133 million passengers and 9,750,000 t

of goods.

The major seaports are located in Sines, Lisbon, Leixões, Setúbal, Aveiro, Figueira da

Foz, and Faro.

The two largest metropolitan areas have subway systems: Lisbon Metro and Metro Sul

do Tejo in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area andPorto Metro in the Porto Metropolitan

Area, each with more than 35 km (22 mi) of lines. In Portugal, Lisbon tram

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services have been supplied by the Companhia de Carris de Ferro de Lisboa (Carris),

for over a century. In Porto, a tram network, of which only a tourist line on the shores of

the Douro remain, began construction on 12 September 1895 (a first for the Iberian

Peninsula). All major cities and towns have their own local urban transport network, as

well as taxi services.

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6. Demographics

The National Institute of Statistics estimates that, according to the 2011 census, the

population was 10,562,178 (of which 52% was female, 48% was male). This population

has been relatively homogeneous for most of its history: a single religion (Catholicism)

and a single language have contributed to this ethnic and national unity, namely after

the expulsion of the Moors and Jews.

6.1. Metropolitan Areas

Rank City name Metro Area Population

1 Lisbon Lisbon 2,821,699

2 Porto Porto 1,758,531

3 Braga Minho 814,083

4 Aveiro Aveiro 461,819

5 Faro Algarve 451,005

6 Coimbra Coimbra 422,708

7 Viseu Viseu 338,229

Chart 1 - Metropolitan Areas of Portugal

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7. Urbanization

The large-scale urbanization phenomenon in Portugal is relatively new, and closely

related to the 2nd post industrialization process World War II (and, more generally, with

the outsourcing process of the economy).

Nevertheless, long the urban phenomenon was established in our country, being very

rich history of many of the Portuguese cities (the first outbreak organized urban life in

the Iberian Peninsula is attributed to the Roman domination). The characteristics of

these were cities is, however, changed over the times, very sharp process in recent

decades, with the expansion of cities and the development of suburbs, population

growth and the rural exodus, and the enormous expansion of urban way of life beyond

the cities, becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between the various forms of

urban space, and between them and the countryside.

The process of urbanization Portuguese (surpassing the simple concentration Massive

population in cities), can be characterized by three main areas:

- Concentration of population in the two major cities (Lisbon and Oporto) and its

nearby;

- Tendency to diffuse urbanization and densification of the dispersion (especially in

North coast), verifying urbanization processes in situ (change of activity economic and

way of life, with space stay);

- More recently, some increase of the population in small towns (which exist in large

numbers, but they are of small size, with the urban network National distorted, lacking

urban centers of intermediate size).

We highlight two major trends associated with this process urbanization: polarization

and littoralisation the urban system, thus aggravating the space existing imbalances. For

these phenomena, has contributed to large geographical mobility (one of highest in the

world and the largest in Europe between 1960 and 1981) of the population Portuguese

(rural exodus / migration / return of former colonies 2) that if combining with the

natural population growth, helped the "desertification" of the interior and increased

asymmetries.

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The polarization of the urban system around the two major national cities emphasized a

historical tendency for the development of these two cities, focusing on two major

national ports and enjoying the best natural and accessibility conditions of the country

(in Lisbon, early and then very marked and developed by overseas expansion process, in

Porto, lesser extent, related to the rise of commercial and industrial bourgeoisie and

trade of Port wine).

These trends in recent decades have been compounded in a large scale, with expansion

of many suburbs and satellite towns around these centers, forming a true metropolitan

area around Lisbon, and something like a polycentric urban region (or conurbation) in

the case of Porto (with competition from alternative poles of lower level, as Aveiro and

Braga, and the expansion of a diffuse urbanization around).

At the same time, and closely related to this, is the process of littoralisation, with the

ever-growing concentration of people and activities in the coastal belt of the territory, a

trend rooted for centuries, initially as an affirmation of Portuguese nationality in search

of independence from Spain and, later, throughout the development of expansion

overseas. Littoralisation This process is made along two major bands: one larger, to the

west, from the north of the territory to Setúbal and the other, southern, between Lagos

and Vila Real de Santo António, with the two (especially the first) in strong expansion

and densification. The concentration of higher degree can be seen from the increased

accessibility of sites (Harbors, rivers, estuaries), extending the coastal strip further

inland in regions with higher communication facilities (eg Coimbra or the Tagus

Valley).

Chart 2 - Largest cities or towns in Portugal

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8. Suburbanization

Today the suburbanization process is very frequent, being a phenomenon of expansion

of the urban area with the construction of buildings on the outskirts of cities, other

infrastructure, with the creation of economic activities and other activities give an air of

urbanization to the suburbs .

The suburbanization is triggered due to the improvement of roads, to high congestion in

the city, the locative incomes are higher in the city than in the suburbs, the largest car

use and the lack of environmental quality because the cities are very polluted.

The suburbanisation process on the other hand raises problems such as destruction of

fertile agricultural soils, intense daily commuting, big waste of time using public and

private transport (congestion), the suburbs are areas no job and no minimum socio-

cultural facilities, there are also frequent disruptions of basic sanitation, electricity and

telephone. Besides a lack of planning in the suburbs proliferate huge slums occupied

illegally, raising problems such as violence and crime among others. The people are just

on the outskirts time working not is also another great source for the increase of less

legitimate activities in the suburbs.

Image 2 - The suburbanisation in the center of Portugal

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We can conclude that although the suburbanization alleviate some city raises many

other problems because there is no planning that directs the organized development of

suburban areas.

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9. Deurbanization

Along the metropolitan area of Lisbon was where there was the greatest positive

changes. Here are present 6 of 7 municipalities with increases above 20%. Most of these

municipalities is located in Setúbal Peninsula (South Rim). In AML (Lisbon

metropolitan area) there are three counties that are losing population, they are the

municipality of Lisbon, Amadora and Moita. This phenomenon, in the case of the

county Lisbon, is

called by

deurbanization, it is

the loss of interest on

the part of the

population live in

these areas because

the price of land is

very high compared

to most peripheral

area, as Mafra

(allowing live in

areas of lower

population density),

Arruda wines,

Benavente,

Alcochete, Sesimbra,

Vila Franca de Xira,

Loures etc ... This

deurbanization is not

only explained by soil

prices, but also

because the built is

degraded, are areas

poorly attended, where the lighting is "poor", often congested, where there is no

parking, etc., these factors mean that these areas are repulsoras the population. This

phenomenon is present in all major cities, so it is a great challenge and one of the

Image 3 - Percentage change in population

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priorities. It is necessary to make these attractive areas for the population. The increase

in suburban area means that we are more dependent on the car, there is need to build

roads to serve these areas hinders the articulation of public transport, spatial planning

difficult because often these areas are the result of illegal nature of urbanization where

built after the cameras see obliged to legalize, areas not meeting the standards of

construction and the pace of construction is very fast is difficult for authorities equip

these areas of infrastructure support for the population.

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Conclusion

The territory of Portugal include (referred to as the continent by most Portuguese) and

two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores.

Portugal operates a multi-party system of competitive legislatures/local administrative

governments at the national-, regional- and local-levels. The Assembly of the

Republic is a unicameral body composed of up to 230 deputies.

Portugal is divided into 308 municipalities and Continental Portugal is agglomerated

into 18 districts. On many highways, toll needs to be paid, see Via Verde. Vasco da

Gama bridge is the longest bridge in Europe.

Continental Portugal's 89,015 km2 (34,369 sq mi) territory is serviced by three

international airports located near the principal cities of Lisbon, Porto and Faro.

Portugal is among the 20 most visited countries in the world, receiving an average of 13

million foreign tourists each year. Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in

Portugal's economy, contributing to about 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The large-scale urbanization phenomenon in Portugal is relatively new, and closely

related to the 2nd post industrialization process World War II (and, more generally, with

the outsourcing process of the economy).

The process of urbanization Portuguese (surpassing the simple concentration Massive

population in cities), can be characterized by three main areas: Concentration of

population in the two major cities (Lisbon and Oporto) and its nearby. Today the

suburbanization process is very frequent, being a phenomenon of expansion of the

urban area with the construction of buildings on the outskirts of cities, other

infrastructure, with the creation of economic activities and other activities give an air of

urbanization to the suburbs. The biggest cause of deurbanization the big city in Portugal

is the high land prices.

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References

On-line souces:

- Several authors: Portugal, Retrieved: April 2015: http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal

- Mateus, S. (2011) : Evolução da População em Portugal, Retrieved: April 2015:

http://planeamentodoterritorio-sm.blogspot.hu/2011/11/blog-post.html

- Silva, D. (2010) : Urbanização em Portugal, Retrieved: April 2015:

http://planeamentoterritorial.blogspot.hu/2010/10/urbanizacao-em-portugal.html

- Oliveira, J. (2010: Industrialização e a urbanização, Retrieved: April 2015:

http://tempo-da-historia.blogspot.hu/2010/04/industrializacao-e-urbanizacao.html