Reconciling transport and urban planning

Recent advances and applicability in Portuguese metropolitan areas

Abstract

Transit-oriented planning has been one of the most popularized methods of public intervention during the last decades. Its main goal consists of hampering urban sprawl, which is generally considered excessive. In this paper, a literature review is made on transit oriented planning, and some lines of thought are outlined about its conditions of applicability in Portugal. First, the diversity of its definitions is highlighted, as well as the implementation challenges (1). Second, the relationship between transit-oriented planning  and the economic/environmental/social dimensions is analyzed (2). Finally, the Portuguese case is questioned, suggesting the need for an evolution of the public action tools in urban planning and transport decisions (3).