EXHAUSTION has talked to Filipe Araújo, Vice Mayor with the responsibility for the environment and innovation in the city of Porto, about habits in transportation, local energy systems and social housing, nature-based solutions and more.

Filipe Araújo, Vice Mayor with the responsibility for the environment and innovation in the city of Porto

– Success is related to having a plan and a clear strategy for implementation, says Araújo.

Araújo was elected in 2013 and started working on the city’s strategy and plan for reducing the emissions of Porto. The city is an active participant since 2008 in the Covenant of Mayors Pledge to Climate and Energy, launched by the European Union.

– The city has the responsibility of giving the example! says Araújo

The city has developed a city master plan supported by scientific studies, including with the support of the University of Porto, who is a partner in the EXHAUSTION project. The city master plan includes the development of nature-based solutions such as tree planting, green roofs and improvements in the transportation system.

– The attention given to a holistic approach of climatological risks and ecosystems is rather unique among politicians and decision makers in Portugal, says Professor Ana Monteiro at the University of Porto and researcher in EXHAUSTION.

– The physical and human geography of Porto is a substantive challenge with an ageing population, a challenging housing stock and the increase in poverty that greatly amplifies the emerging risks arising from impacts of climate change.

– The solution has been to map in detail each neighborhood and the specificities of people and places on a local scale to find efficient ways to improve quality of life and the existing ecosystem to build a more healthy, happy and resilient city, says Monteiro.

As only six percent of the emissions are linked to the activities of the municipality (schools, municipal public buildings, public lighting etc.), the policy makers have worked to broaden the engagement for the envirionmental work in the city.

– We need to bring other sectors, including the private sector on board, so that we can work on reducing emissions from other sources, says Araújo.

Thus, in the beginning of 2022, the Porto Climate Pact was launched which includes different stakeholders, institutions, academia and organisations.

Nature-based solutions

Porto uses nature based solutions for adaptation purposes. “Sponge” parks, urban forests and the Porto BIOLab are parts of the solution.   

– In the master city plan the first layer is the ecological structure. We want to reinforce the green and blue areas in the city. For example, we have a plan for re-naturalizing rivers and streams by rehabilitating them and getting them back to surface.

– Porto is a very dense and historical city. We must work with the territory as it is. Porto also has a coastline, and we need to be prepared for sea rise and adapt to it, says Araújo.

He explains that in their work they use landscape architects and bioclimatic experts and take into account urban heat islands and cold areas in the implementation of the plan.

An urban heat island (UHI) is an urban or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities.

The master city plan implies regulations of land use planning in the city.

Green roofs

Porto is affected by heatwaves and droughts.

– We are experiencing very extensive droughts in Porto, so it is important to explore the potential circularity of the water. For example water which flow down from the green roofs can be reused in the building for irrigation, says the Vice Major.

Porto is also experimenting with new technical solutions for their wastewater treatment plants so that they can reuse the water to irrigate the parks.

Another solution they are working with is the installation of green roofs.

– We are experimenting with green roofs on a new school, and for our new public transport system hub we build a green roof which also generated a new park, says Araújo. – And in our experience, it is also possible to build green roofs on old buildings.  

Transportation and habits

The transportation system in Porto has been developed and expanded with a new metro line.

–  We needed to encourage people to leave their own cars and use the public transportation system. The incentives we used was to cut the price to 30 EUR per months, for the metropolitan area. A family can buy a monthly card for 65 EUR - thus we have invested a lot of money in changing the mentalities of people, underlines Araújo.

­– We wanted to start with the young generation – so we decided that children up till 18 years old can use all public transportation for free. And the results of that is that the children started having much more contact with their friends. Also, they use public transport more to go to school.

– In some parts of Porto we have introduced new cycle lines. However, Porto is a hilly city and it is not easy to build infrastructure for bicycles!

The importance of trees

Porto also has a master plan for trees.

–  Some people love trees, and some people don’t says Araújo, smiling. We have introduced a tree nursery and we collaborate with the inhabitants. So people to tell us where and how their garden is – and the architects choose trees that will have good conditions for growing in that garden.

The tree plan will contribute to the fixation of carbon – together with the sponge parts that have the capacity to absorb water.

Local energy systems

12 percent of Porto’s population live in social housing

– We have invested 150 million EUR to improve the housing, says Araújo. We changed the roofs and got them better isolated, and the energy efficiency was improved by 45 %!

We have worked with the city as an energy producer, and are establishing energy communities, and one of these energy communities is in a social housing area. Together with the local school that energy community produces energy. We will increase the production of energy in social housing buildings aiming to produce 6MW of energy in the next years.

– It is important to develop this thinking in the Europen Union, the regulatory framework lays behind Araújo claims.

He explains: If we have sun and space we should generate energy close to where we spend energy. We lose 10 to 15 % of energy in the electrical grid – so if we look at the amount of roofs we have in Europe there is a huge potential. But currently there are no incentives for sending energy back to the grid, this is paid 0 EUR today. The EU commission should change this so that the way VAT and fees are regulated gives an incentive for local based solutions.

Until 2020 Porto managed to reduce its emissions by 52,2% compared to the reference year 2004. Until 2030 the city aims to become climate neutral.  

Interested in more information about green cities in Europe? Follow e.g. Eurocities and ICLEI-Europe.

Background photo of Porto: by Nick Karvounis on Unsplash
All other photos provided by the office of the Vice Mayor in Porto.