Requalification of housing suburbs: Urban project for Covilhã

Abstract

This article has a graphic and illustrative sketch of the urban requalification project for the suburban neighbourhood of Covelo, in the surroundings of Covilhã, in the interior of Portugal near to the border with Spain. It was carried out for a subject of Urban Planning of the University of Beira Interior during the mobility program with Brazilian universities. It is a low-density residential suburb of single-houses typology. The methodology applied in a first phase includes an analytical research of the area features, supported by field visits, sketch maps and municipal documents that regulate the processes of edification, urbanization and urban requalification. The second phase included the preparation of visual maps that allowed the construction of a set of conditions, weaknesses and potentialities of the area, considering its characteristics and morphological elements. In the third phase, an urban diagnosis was elaborated showing the failures of integration of this suburban neighbourhood at the urban network of Covilhã, with a massive presence of urban voids, low quality and scarcity of public spaces, undersized streets structure and lack of commercial attractiveness. In the fourth phase, the urban design solution aimed to create democratic spaces for meeting and leisure, based on concepts such as permeability, accessibility, readability, diversity, flexibility, identity and ownership of the local community, residents and visitors. The requalification project aims to clarify the public and private realms of the spaces and the creation of an environment where everyone can experience the individual and the collective within the same neighbourhood. The propose is a long-term development and should be considered in phases as the community grow. It aims to allow the neighbourhood expansion, restructuring the street network and, after that, the following steps like implantation of a small business centre. It is believed that the result is an attractive proposal for the local and that, through the urban design project, citizens will be invited to take ownership of the new public area while creating a more healthy community, with a sense of collective responsibility for its maintenance.