Velo-city 2007

Para quem quiser consultar os resumos (abstracts) da Conferência Velo-city 2007 (Munique).

Esteve presente um único representante nacional (Professor Duarte d´Araújo Mata). Anexo o abstract publicado no documento anteriormente citado:

Th2│23c: Bicycle paths as an ecological and transport tool for linking city and periphery in Lisbon City-Region. Applying to Sintra Municipality. Duarte d´Araújo Mata, Manuela Raposo Magalhães (author), André Neves, Pedro Arsénio (PT) Landscape Architecture Research Centre Prof. Caldeira Cabral, Instituto Superior de Agronomia/Lisbon Technical University

In Portugal, bicycle has been traditionally used in regions with acceptable slope, such as Aveiro, Marinha Grande and most part of current Lisbon City Region. With car increase, this practice almost disappeared and planning with bicycles as a
transport agent was totally forgotten. In Lisbon City Region, increasing pollution problems and daily car congestion happens while Kyoto targets are endangered. Dispersed housing and equipments compromises an integrated and efficient public transport as well as destroy ecological balance.

A recent planning strategy at local and regional levels puts ecological sustainability on centre of main concerns and also gives greenways multiple environmental and also mobility. In Lisbon City Region two realities might be found: more consolidated urban areas, where public transport might be the key to renewal, contrasts with some Peripheries where dramatic lack of urban planning compromises sustainable mobility.

Thus, in these suburban contexts such as Sintra Municipality, a strategy for finding non-pollutant means of transport, which may easily connect people towards main public transport interfaces, should mean creating pleasant and safe infrastructure for pedestrians and bicycles while acting simultaneously as natural and cultural greenways as well as a tool for urban renewal.

Sintra Municipality is more than 300.000 inhabitants, which constitutes one of the densest populated areas in Europe. In the beginning it had been developed around train stations but, however, recently fast-dispersed housing puts people away from public transport while traffic congestion and severe ecological problems are the result of not respecting the Landscape ecological suitability.

Sintra Municipality Cycle Plan is a very innovative tool because it allows introducing, not only an effective transport alternative for a periphery area, but also linking to the city as well as deepens on a greenway network, which may be a valuable factor for a new quality urban environment.