The management of water heritage in Portuguese cities: Recent regeneration projects in Évora, Lisbon, Braga and Guimarães

Abstract

Given the cultural and environmental potential presented by historical water infrastructures in urban contexts, this article states the evidence of a not much documented urban phenomenon in Portugal, the refurbishment of water heritage protected areas motivated by European-based regeneration projects. By employing a case-study design, four good practices -placed in Évora, Lisbon, Braga and Guimarães-are chosen to enlighten this growing and aware trend. The assets located there -the Água de Prata Aqueduct, the Águas Livres Aqueduct, the Sete Fontes water-supply system and the Zona de Couros industrial area, respectively-are geographical, historical and culturally characterised, while the projects that concern them are documented by visiting the areas and analysing the available sources. Then, open-data platforms and heritage protection decrees are processed to graphically code the topography, hydrology, urban land use, infrastructures, landmarks and protected areas, employing QGIS free software for Geographic Information Systems. As a result, the four practices are documented, discussed and compared. A table assesses and summarises their pre-existing and currently added values and a series of diagrams illustrates the landscape changes generated. These graphics validate the practices and update the status of the assets, enhancing the rediscovery of the existing landscapes and showing the main challenges and future opportunities faced by these areas.

Keywords

• Heritage characterization
• Infrastructures
• Landscape
• Obsolescence
• Urban planning
• Waterworks