IDENTIFYING TERRITORIAL CULTURES IN PORTUGAL:

A REFLECTION ON THE PERCEPTION OF SPATIAL PLANNING PROBLEMS

Abstract

Portugal’s relatively young spatial planning policy is reflected in the lack of territorial culture among citizens and institutions, hindering the development of new skills and planning practices. In this sense, it is believed that citizen involvement in spatial planning increases the exchange of knowledge and expectations, contributing to a more commonly agreed-upon set of practices. As part of the revision of the National Spatial Planning Policy Programme (PNPOT), a questionnaire was designed to analyze how citizens perceive spatial planning problems. This survey aims to assess whether there is proximity between citizens, including how they perceive problems, and whether this proximity builds communities. From a conceptual point of view, communities represent close territorial cultures, relatively similar ways of perceiving problems. Social network analysis is used to identify these proximities, and sub-graphs are presented that contain the most important links that have been established. The results show that several communities exist, varying in size, that group together heterogeneous individuals. In other words, the respondents have a different vision of the problems, highlighting the diversity of the territorial culture.