Spain 
Italy 
Greece 
Porto City Council Wants Federal Government to Guarantee Support for the Rehabilitation of ‘Islands’
5 July 2018
The Porto City Council (CMP) wants the Portuguese government to create a legal and economic model that allows the inhabitants of ‘ilhas’ (islands, or former workers’ back-to-back housing) in the city to access the support provided for the rehabilitation of housing, under the First Law program.
Ana Pinho, the Secretary of State for Housing, was present today at a major debate on the future of Porto’s ‘islands’, which took place at the Campo Alegre Theatre at 10 am. She recently stated in the National Assembly that the First Law program would be an instrument that will allow “urgent and decisive intervention” in areas such as Porto’s housing islands.
However, the Councillor for Housing and Social Cohesion, Fernando Paulo, and the municipal authorities have their doubts about the issue and how it will be done. This is because the First Right Law – a program that is aimed at supporting access to housing for needy families – “does not directly support the recovery of homes but families.”
Many of the islands – which are clusters of more than a dozen homes, on average – are subject to varying situations, as some are wholly occupied by tenants and others by the properties’ owners.
Nearly 1,000 islands with 10,000 inhabitants
There are 957 islands in Porto, almost all of which are privately-owned and where more than 10,000 people live. There are only three municipally owned islands: Bela Vista, which has already been rehabilitated, Bonjardim, with is under construction, and Cortes, where works are expected to begin soon.
The vast majority of these clusters, scattered throughout the city, need major renovations, but the owners do not have the financial capacity to execute the needed works.
Councillor Fernando Paulo, who accompanied the media and some guests during a visit to several islands in the city, said that the CMP “wants to partner with the private owners”, but it is necessary “to develop a model that would allow the state to support the rehabilitation of the islands.”
For this to be possible, the Portuguese government must ensure that funding for the recovery of these clusters, through the First Law, will be a reality.
Until this happens, some of the projects in the licensing phase, such as a privately-owned island on Rua de S. Vítor – one of the two private islands visited by journalists – continue to await the definition of which public program they may apply for funds.
An island with 12 houses and three residents
The island of Rua de S. Vítor – a street with 33 different islands – consists of 12 houses, only three of which are inhabited: two to tenants and another that is the owner’s home.
According to Aitor Varea Oro, an architect and the coordinator of the program Habitar Porto, which is leading the rehabilitation project of this island, the “objective is to take the 12 homes and reformulate them into eight, creating the necessary conditions for habitability.”
The objective is to rehabilitate the homes of the three families, while the rest will be placed in the social rental market, which initially led the owner to apply for funds through the Reabilitar para Arrendar program.
For Aitor Varea Oro, “the great challenge is to operationalise the whole process” since this work is “like a filigree”. Therefore, he warns, “it is necessary to create a financial instrument that fits this type of rehabilitation project.”
Rui Moreira and Ana Pinho inaugurate the conference
The president of the CMP, Rui Moreira, and the Secretary of State for Housing, Ana Pinho, were present at the opening session of today’s event to discuss the future of the Porto’s ‘islands’.
The session, which also saw the participation of the council member for Housing, Fernando Paulo, will accompany the Presentation of the Survey and the Strategic Program for the Islands of Porto, by Isabel Breda Vázquez and Paulo Santos Conceição, of the University of Porto.
The highlight of the afternoon was the debate between political forces with representation in the Porto Municipal Assembly, moderated by its president, Miguel Pereira Leite.
Original Story: Idealista – Elisabete Soares
Photo: Miguel Nogueira / CMP
Translation: Richard Turner