The fragile foundations of European spatial planning in Portugal

This article is about the influence of the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) and its follow-up processes in the Portuguese spatial planning system. The Portuguese planning tradition is based on a clear separation between urban planning and regional development policy as well as on a dominant blueprint approach. Strategic spatial planning is still at an infancy stage and environmental concerns, recently introduced largely under the influence of the European Union, adopted essentially a restrictive and reactive stance. The article starts with a brief historical overview of the main characteristics of the spatial planning system in Portugal. This overview provides the context for the analysis of the influence of the ESDP in Portugal. The article acknowledges that the ESDP has had so far a limited impact on spatial planning practices but it ends with a prospective analysis of spatial planning change in Portugal which further supports the argument for the likelihood of (future) closer links between national and supra-national processes of change.